A Vision of London
by AHeart99
Summary: Major AU. Katniss Everdeen is the seventeen year old track prodigy on her way to London for the 2012 Olympic Games. But when tragedy strikes, will her much needed prince-in-shining-track-sneakers come save her? Some OOC, please read!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is a major AU, and it is about my Olympic dream being accomplished by the famous Katniss Everdeen! This is the story of her and her dream, but when a tragic event occurs, a certain somebody might just be her much needed prince-in-shining-track-sneakers. Enjoy! Positive and constructive feedback is always welcome!

-A Heart

Nervously, I glanced around the busy track. On my right was the stands, filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of spectators, here to judge every stride I took. On my left was my competitors, coaches, officials, and lots field event equipment. I adjusted my sweatband and peered down the curve on the track that I was about to run. With my eyes closed I took deep breathes and jogged in place, bringing my knees to my hands that laid, palms down, at my rib cage. My hands straightened my hip number, 3, on my red shorts, and I stepped into the lane, preparing to run the most important sprint of my life. I had 200 meters to give it everything I had in me. I was not about to waste three years of brutal training on a race that I was heavily underestimated in. As a pale skinned seventeen year old girl, I was nothing more a charity case to my extreme, real deal, mid-twenties competitors. But they haven't seen me run yet. They probably didn't even bother to watch my semi-finals win. Or to notice my 21.3 second time. No, I was not going to prove them right.

Let me back up first. My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old, but, you already knew that. I am from a tiny town in Massachusetts which is appropriately named Littleton. I grew up running which led me to many track programs. At one meet, the happened to be a baseball game going on on a field over. One of the coaches, a former Olympic gold metal winner in the 100 meter hurdles, was heading over after the game for some popcorn when the 200 took place. I was in the first heat, filled with, or so I've been told, the fastest runners. I was in lane three. He was walking by as I took off, quickly leaving my competitors in shame as I crossed the finish line a good five seconds before the second place finisher reached the line. Apparently, a 25.6 second finish is abnormally fast of a girl of my age, 14 at the time. David froze, 'seeing something so special', as he puts it, 'put me in pure shock, and reminded me of my Games. So extraordinary, so passionate, so talented.' He, after his emotional moment, raced over to me, telling me who he was (as if I didn't already know) and telling me that he wanted to be my coach, so I could someday experience the greatness of the Olympics. Me, being young and excited, agreed vigorously. So, after hours of yelling and convincing, my parents agreed. It was a year an two weeks before my dad died of heart attack. After that overwhelming day, I have run at least two miles a day, and sprinted six days a week. The track in Littleton is my home away from home.

Which leads me to now. The day I turned seventeen David informed that I was eligible with my time to compete at Olympic level. He had gotten me a spot at the first round of the trails. I would continue if I got at least third place in every race. When I reached finals, David cried when I finished my interview. He didn't speak for an hour just beamed at me, cried, and hugged everyone in sight. Later that night he told me that this is a dream come true for both of us, not just me. I cried too. If I finish in the top three today, I will go to London. I will be part of the U.S. Olympic 2012 Team. I will be known as one of the fastest women in the world. Which is why I must win today. Also, I don't lose. I just don't. Plain and simple. I won't allow it.

I did a couple of warm up kicks and then the starter tells us to take our places at our starting blocks. Crouched in position, I sprung up a little at his second command. The silence is deafening until I hear the gun. Adrenaline pumping, I started of in an easy sprint, catching speed as I bent across the curve. As soon I reach the 100 start, I took off in full sprint. I glanced to my sides and did a double take, almost stopping short when I saw no one is my peripheral vision. Suddenly panicked that they all finished without me seeing, leaving me in the dust, I sped up even more. Seeing the finish line almost underneath my feet, I practically dove, my feet flailing, arms sprawled outwards. I landed on my feet though, and turn to see the other races. To my surprise, most of them have just finished. So they didn't leave me behind. But I obviously didn't win either if they were right there. Feeling discouraged, I sit in my lane and put my head in between my bent legs. My left hand rests firmly on my stomach, encouraging my to take deep breathes to avoid painful cramps. The announcers deep voice came over the loud speaker and I, as well as my competitors looked up at the mega screen to see the finalists.

"Now let's give a round of applause to our 2012 Olympic team 200 meter dash finalists:

in third place, Johanna Mason! In second place, Madge Undersee! In first place with an put standing time of 21.84, Katniss Everdeen!"

My eyes widened and I jumped up and down in excitement and pure happiness. I'm going to London. The second place finalist comes over to me, I think her name is Madge, and says something inaudible and hugs me. As a person, I am not very touchy. I will only hug very close friends, like Gale before he moved to Pennsylvania (I haven't hard from him since), or family, and I will only hold hands win my thirteen year old sister Prim. But with joy that could last a lifetime in me, I gave her a hug and half- cried half- whispered: "We'll do this together."

Together, the other two winners and I, walk, arms linked, to an announcer. Starting with Johanna, she asks, " Johanna, what does it feel like to make your third Olympic team in a race you've never done in the Olympic trails before?"

"Well, it feels as good as it ever does. The race doesn't matter, either way, it's a sense of achievement; but the journey isn't over yet." Johanna jogs away, leaving me and Madge.

"Madge. You are twenty five and this is your second trail but first team. What did you do differently in training that got you into three sprint races this year?"

"Nothing. I just now know what it feels like to lose; the disappointment, everything. I did not want to feel it again." She, too, leaves the area and the reporter turns to me.

"Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire."

"What?" I interrupted, confused about my nickname.

"Oh yes. Girl on Fire. You were moving so fast out there in your orange shirt and red shorts it looked as if you see on fire; hence the nickname."

"Oh..."

"So, Katniss Everdeen. Girl on Fire. Seventeen years old. Against all odds, you won with an outstanding time. What is this like for you?"

"It's a dream come true." I gave the reporter a nod and skipped away. I see David running towards me and I bury myself into his shoulder.

"You did it, sweetheart. You did it." I looked up at his face as we walked away. I must shower quickly and then meet the U.S. team. Trails ended with my race and I was nervous to meet my teammates, expecting them to be older than me by a good chunk. Planting a sloppy kiss on David's cheek, I ran over to my impatient parents who are standing in front of the locker room. I hugged my dad, taking his embrace in awaiting arms and smile at mother and kiss her cheek as well.

"I'll be back!" My voice echoed in the walls as I jogged over to my bag and swung it over my shoulder lazily.

"I'm done!" I yell as I put my long chestnut hair back up, this time in my infamous braid. My fingers make a snapping sound against the hair elastic as it wraps around the end of my braid. David walks around the corner of the stadium's hallway, keys jingling in hand.

"Alright, well, I'll drop you off on the field and then I'm going to go home to change. I'll be back to pick you up at the end of the meeting; six o'clock. Okay?"

"Sounds good!" We walk swiftly down the hallway and out the door, onto the track which surrounds the field. I immediately spot Madge, who is waving me over. I turn to David and give him a goodbye wave and jog over to my new friend.

"Hey Katniss! You are just in time! The track coach, Haymitch Abernathy is about to come out. Right now, just meet the oth-" She is cut off by me whirling around to find the source of a tap on my shoulder.

"Kaleniss?" Is what is heard when I recognize my attacker. My voice questions "Gale?", while his excitedly announces "Katniss!" My mouth is dropped and I am soon crushed in a bear hug which I give back, only with less force. I step back out of his tight grasp as soon I realize that I haven't seen my best friend in ten years, much less heard at all, no letters, phone calls, emails, nothing from him, and frown.

"You never called." I state plainly.

"I know, and I'm sorry." His face falls but quickly recovers and chance the subject. "So what are you doing here? And you are so young... You knew it was my dream to be in the Olympics, but I didn't know that you even did track or field."

"I'm here for the 200. I came in first with a 21.84, in front of Madge here." I gestured to the older girl behind me and saw a slight spark in Gale's eyes after he whistled at my time and looked at her. "Yeah, I started after you left, about a month after in fact. When I was fourteen I had a meet, and a baseball game.." I launch into a detailed explanation of how I came to be who I am today. "How about you? I mean, what is your event?"

"Oh, I'm doing the 400 meter hurdles. I came in second in the finals. I'm here with my friend from Wayne, P.A., Peeta." Hale turned around to wave over an athletic, tall blond haired an blue eyed boy that looked about my age. "He is your age, Catnip." Gale said, turning back to us, confirming my suspicions. I smiled at the memory of my nickname. When I was seven, I had been walking to school when a nine year brown headed boy jumped out at me. "What's your name?" He had asked. Still in shock, my voice cracked in a hushed whisper, and my voice sounded like I had said "Catnip." "Catnip, huh?" He had replied. "Well I'm Gale and-" That's where I had cut him off, sharply stated that my name was Katniss. Not Catnip. Katniss. K-A-T-N-I-S-S. Katniss. We had been best friends ever since,

Reluctantly, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft voice say "Hi." I looked up to see the blond haired boy lolling a my intently.

"So you are the famous Katniss Everdeen." I must of shown my confusion on my face, because he was quick to continue, "I'm Peeta Mellark. You are all that everyone's been talking about. You and your fantastic time. Congratulations, by the way." I smiled and nodded in understanding.

"It's nice to meet you Peeta. What is your event?"

"Well, I'm actually doing two. The 100 and the javelin."

"Wow. How long have you known Gale? I don't know if he told you, but Gale and I were best friends before he moved away, even though he is two years older than me."

"Yes, he talks about you all the time." I glance at Gale, who gives me a sheepish grin. "I met him a few days after he moved to Wayne. We have become really close." He leans in, as if to tell me a secret. He speaks in a hushed tone when he says, "In fact, I know him so well that I can tell that he really likes Miss Madge over there." I smirk and glance at the two, who were talking softly. I turn back to Peeta who is grinning at me, his blue eyes lit up.

"So... I guess we will be together from now on. I mean, training and doing things in London. Maybe we can even get a flight from somewhere in the middle between Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Madge, well I think she is from The Bronx, so she could meet us too. If you want to, of course." I state uncomfortably. I didn't want this boy that I felt to drawn towards to think that I was a control freak. Fortunately, his smile somehow widened.

"Yes! That sounds like a great id-," Before he could finish his thought, Peeta was cut of by a sharp whistle that pierced the air. We all turned forwards the direction of the sound to see a large figure that could only be described as the Haymitch Abernathy.

"Oi! I know this is exciting and blah, blah, blah, but do you hip people ever shut up?" Haymitch growled at the sea of athletes. There was a small murmur of amusement and I smirked, glancing at Peeta who grinned at me. "So," He started his speech. "This is how I am going to help you get ready. I've talked to your trainers, who agreed that you will only practice with them on Mondays, Tusedays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This leaves me with Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. On my days, we will do team building exercises, since, yes, we are all in this together for the U.S., are we not?" Haymitch looked at us expectantly and we nodded eagerly. "Fantastic. We will also race men verse women to help both genders. I know that man and women run and perform differently, but it will help prepare you for whatever crazy tricks Zimbabwe and Poland have come up with these Games. We will also do yoga, with help from my assistant coach Effie Trinket." He waved a hand at a tall woman with bright pink hair, and well, pink everything. We all mumbled lame 'hello's to the fashionable female and turned back to our strict leader. "From now on, no one will drink anything alcoholic. No more McDonald's, either, but I hope none of your were in the first place, too. We are team. No one is better than the next one. You will act like a team member or I can easily get that disappointed fourth place finisher a chance at London. Got it, team?" Haymitch questioned and we all called out a chorus of harmonious 'Yes!'s, 'Yup!'s, and 'Mmm hmm!'s.

"Now go have a carb and calorie filled meal with your newly found friends and a good nights rest, because remember, tomorrow is Sunday!" He called in a sing-sony voice as we departed.

"Do you all want to grab a bite at Vixen's, down the road. It's really good. We went there the last Olympic trails, after my fourth place finish." Madge told Peeta, Gale, and I. I shrugged and glanced at the guys, who nodded encouragingly. "Perfect!"

Peeta held me arm, keeping me from walking right up front with Gale and Madge, who were heavy in conversation.

"Do you want to get dinner with me tomorrow after practice?" He asked and I blushed and smiled.

"I'd love to. Let me just check in with David, he's my trainer, tonight to see what met running schedule is. I have a twenty mile in the next day or two, so I just have to make sure it's not tomorrow night. I'll call you later or in the morning to let you know if we need a rain check or not."

"Okay. What's your number?" After I gave him my number and he recited his, we took off towards our friends who were waiting impatiently by the car.

"Okay, so I can go?" I question David for the third time, making sure that I was free for dinner tomorrow night. I had had such an amazing time tonight that I literally begged David to change my training schedule for my twenty miler to Monday.

"Yes! God, Kat. Just call the boy before I tape that mouth of yours shut!"

"You know you love me!" I shot back with an evil grin. I mumbled an incoherent 'good night' after giving my loving trainer a peck on the cheek and walking into my hotel room. Quickly, I found Peeta's number and was waiting impatiently for his sweet voice to come through.

"Hey, Katniss."

"Hi Peeta! So David said that my long run is scheduled for Monday, so I can do dinner!" I tried desperately to say my lie as casual as possible, but I know that it came out excited and chirpy.

"That's awesome! Training ends at five, so do want me to pick you up at seven? Do you like Thai? 'Cause I know a really good place down the road, Ta Ra Rin. I went the with my parents when we cam ego Oregon in the summer of '07, and-"

"Peeta! You're rambling. Seven sounds perfect. I love Thai, it's my favorite cuisine. Ta Ra Tin, or whatever you said is fine." I can hear him breath out in relief. Someone is nervous. "Are you okay? You sound anxious and nervous."

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just the stress of the games, I guess." He is a really bad list, but I can tell that I should just let it go.

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Do you need a ride?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though. Good night Kat."

"Night, Peeta." Ending the conversation with a contented sigh, I climb into bed for a dreamless sleep.

"All righty gang! Today we will go into co-Ed groups made up of, and as I list off your event go stand with your teammates. People with a track event and a field event will have to pick. Same with doubles or whatever. 'Kay, here we go. One hundred and two hundred to the two hundred start. Four hundred and eight hundred to the start line. Fifteen hundr..." His bored voice slowly drowned put as I walked over to my favored race's starting line. I glanced to my side and saw Madge, Peeta, Johanna, and seven other people who's names I don't know.

"Hey Katniss. So, are we running both the two hundred and the one hundred?" I shrugged then nodded, not trusting my voice, as if it might spit out 'Your hair is very cute today!' which it very well might, because Peeta's hair was in fact flipped to the side in an adorable manner. Just on cue, though, Haymitch's annoying voice rang in our ears.

"Alright! Start with the two hundred and then the one hundred. Same heats. First will be Katniss, Finnick, and Peeta. Second is Annie, Madge, Dominick, and Joseph. Third is Johanna, Matt, Nina, and Sieter." I raised my eyebrows at Peeta playfully and he mouthes 'Oh, it's on.'

"Finnick," he whispers, "is the winner of the one hundred. That means we are racing the actual two hundrerer. Fantastic. Note the sarcasm." I smirked and jumped on my toes, warming up again. We had just done a series of stretches together, but it never is a bad thing to continue them. I step into the my superstitious lane, three. I glance at Peeta and Finnick and wait for Haymitch's first command. Everyone else is watching the races so there is no intersecting races. From behind my starting block, I hear the 'ready' and step onto the block, muscles tense. 'Set' comes next and I take my hands off of the ground. The gun fires and I ease myself down the track. Around the curve, the 150 mark, I pump my arms a little more. When my feet pass the 100 start I sprint as fast as my body will go. I have a lot to prove, racing two men. Women are so underestimated in track and I am going to change that. Seconds pass, and I find myself throwing my body across the finishing line, arms thrown back, feet flying behind me. I quickly stand up, not wanting to show any weakness even if it is just tiredness.

"Katniss! God, girl! You really have a chance at the gold! That time was faster then yesterday's qualifying time! 21.79! You almost are one of the fastest in the world!" I blush at Haymitch's amazement and glance at Peeta and Finnick's flushed faces who are gaping at me."And boys! You just got beat by a seventeen year old female! Pick it up! Finnick, 22.30. Peeta, 22.41." I scowl at Haymitch's sexist comment but quickly recover when I realize that I beat both males by more 0.50 seconds.

"Wow Kat. Nice race." I look over at Peeta, who is bent over but smirking up at me. I grin back.

"Thanks. I want to see you in the one hundred. Still one of my better races." He winks at me and I feel my stomach drop. Pull yourself together, Kat. It's just Peeta. I look down to hide my red cheeks and turn to the track to see the next race. It was very close, but not as fast as ours.

"Mellark! Odiar! Everdeen! You can head over to the one hundred. Do some warm ups or something. Just get out of my sight!" I smile slightly a Haymitch's outburst and walk over to the boys, hands on hips, talking large, rhythmic breaths.

"We better get over there before Haymitch has a heart attack." Finnick jokes but I stiffen slightly. Peeta, who is standing behind me, notices my change in stance, and puts a hand on my shoulder and massages slightly. I glance back and give a small smile to say 'thank you'. He gives a short nod and puts pressure on my back, wanting me to start moving. Finnick, who has been oblivious to our whole exchange is blabbering on about some girl who's name I caught started with an 'A', I silently laugh to myself and then jog over to the side of the one hundred. Soon, all of the two hundred races were finished. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the track, about to run my first one hundred since my dad had died, it was his favorite.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I'm so happy with the responses for the first chapter! Thank you! Some of the reviews I got totally helped me out.

First of all, I made some confusing, stupid mistake of writing about Katniss's dad's death, and then mentioning him being alive in present time. Katniss's dad is dead! Sorry about that!

Next thing is that I wrote this chapter for my first reviewer, . Here is your scene!

Also! Last chapter, I had inserted lines between paragraphs to mark time break. For some reason beyond me, they did not show up. So, now, I will not be using them. This means that some chapters will be shorter than usual to avoid confusion. It also means there will be more chapters.

I want to thank you again for your support! It's very helpful.

-A Heart

I remember my first one hundred. I was nine years old and I had just beat the most obnoxious, know-it-all boy in my grade in the two hundred. That was when I knew the two hundred was for me. The one hundred was next, and I thought, why not, I mean what damage can it do? I stepped onto the track, body stiff and muscles tense. When I took off across the line, I felt like I was flying. My dad was standing on the side lines, screaming encouragingly at me to keep up the speed, to take long strides, et cetera. When I heard him yell 'You're winning, baby!' I glanced in his direction and gave him a toothy grin.

Later that night, my dad had reminded me that usually, I blocked out all sound and couldn't hear a thing when running. It was that phrase that night whenI had first acknowledged my cheering crowd ever, let alone hearing the, at all. My dad was so proud that it was his voice that sang in my ears in those brief seconds that he swore that the one hundred was the best race out there and that he was some magical being who belonged to it. I thought this was the stupidest thing ever.

I kept running the two hundred as my main event but did the one hundred to please my dad and for my own enjoyment. I had been practicing the one hundred two days before he died and got my PR. I never ran it again, not competitively, not even for practice. It hurt too much when I stepped on the starting line.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I blink the tears that threatened to overflow back. 'Ready.' I hear Haymitch's voice come from the starting voice. 'Set'.' The next command signals me to lift my hands from the ground. The gun shot rings in our ears and we take off, but all I can think of is trying to get the repeating word out of my head 'Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad.' We came across the finishing line, and I collapsed in a heap in the grass, making room for the next heat of runners.

"Hey, are you okay?" I look up long enough to make out Finnick's figure leaning down over me, his concerned eyes searching mine. Once again, I feel tears, and I know that I have to get out of here if I don't want the whole Olympic track team to see me cry. I bury my face in my hands and mumble: "Just get me out of here."

Finnick lifts me up, one of his arms slung over my shoulder my face buried into his side. He clutches me protectively and I see that he is leading me to the men's locker room.

"Finnick! What happened? Is she okay? Katniss?" Peeta yells, obviously distressed.

"Mellark!" Finnick barks, which is unusual for his usually calm demeanor. "Calm down, man. You're just stressing her out. Let me deal with this." I can tell that Peeta is reluctant to leave, but he follows the command.

When we enter the locker room, Finnick sits down next to me on a bench and strokes my hair, but I'm too emotional to care.

"You want to tell me what happened out there?" Finnick asks, and I gasp for air. I shake my head vigorously, the universal sign for 'no'. The bronze haired man pulls me in for a tight hug and we sit there for twenty minutes, me drowning in my own tears and him probably wondering what he ever did wrong to have to be with this messed up girl right now. I finally pull myself together and lean back, positioning my body to be facing the lockers.

"Sorry you had to see that." I mumble. I'd be surprised if Finnick even understood that.

"No problem. Everyone cries. I'd just like to know what that was about."

"Maybe someday I'll tell you." We are deafened by silence until I blurt put something that even surprises me.

"I never cry. I never did when my dad died." Finnick looks taken aback for a moment, but then he recovers. He stares at me slowly moving inward. I am frozen as he glances down to my lips and unconsciously licks his. He begins to place a calloused hand on my cheek when I fully realize my situation. I jump up and kick him in the shin, disgusted by his behavior. How could he take advantage of me like that? I was weak! Ugh.

"How dare you? I am weak and emotional and you try to kiss me? What if I had a boyfriend or something. In fact, I'm having dinner with Peeta tonight. That could have ruined everything!" I yell, throwing my hands in the air. Finnick is gaping at me, shocked at both me and himself. I shoot one last menacing glare at him and stalk away.

Back put on the field, Peeta sprints over to me, concern eating up his gorge- Katniss! Concern eating up his face.

"Hey! What happened?"

"Oh nothing. I just had an emotional breakdown over running the one hundred and..." I trailed off, eyes wide as I realize what I am about to say.

"And?" Peeta's eyes are frantically searching my face. I bite my lip and look away as I mutter my next line.

"And... Finnick tried to kiss me." This is when, in the movies, the boyfriend or jealous crusher stalks off to the offender and punches him in the head, telling him to leave his girl alone. But, in this life, Peeta looks like he is about to faint. Color completely drained of his face, eyes cast downwards, hands fumbling.

"Oh. So... you probably don't want to go out now."

"What! No! I shoved his sorry butt away and told him to that it was a really jerkish move, to go after an emotional girl like that. I also told him about you." I glance up to see Peeta with wider eyes and a small grin on his face.

"Wow. Yeah, I'd be scared of you when you get angry." He leaned on his right hip, head cocked, looking at me up and down. "Yup. Definitely scared."

"So, tonight at seven. Thai, right?" He nodded and did a little dance.

"Ta Ra Rin! Do do do do! Ta Ra Rin! Do do do do!" He shouts, hands in the air and hips circling. I giggle unconsciously and smack his arm.

"Shut up, you lunatic." Peeta frowns playfully while rubbing his arm. I glare at him, but he takes it lightly since he can see that there is no weight behind it.

"Come on." He grabs hold of me hand and begins to pull me away, when we are stopped by the voice of Finnick Odiar yelling: "Wait!" I spin on my heel, left foot tapping the ground impatiently.

"What do you want, Odair?"

"I just wanted to apologize. Trying to kiss you was immature and stupid, and to be honest with you, I'm not even sure why I did it. I don't even like you! Well, that way, I mean. I like you as a friend and stuff, but not roma-"

"Finnick!" I snap. "Your rambling. To the point, please."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I like Annie Cresta. I really hope I didn't mess up a chan to be friends, 'cause I think that you are pretty awesome."

"Okaayyyy..." I drag out, suspicious. Peeta is standing there, arms crossed, glaring at Finnick, who is oblivious yet again to his surroundings. "See you later Finnick. Come on, Peeta. I need to go to the locker room to grab my bag and keys, and then we can walk out together, okay?" He looks a little relived that I remembered that he was still alive, and he nods and walks away from the troubled attractive man that was begging me for my forgiveness. Well, not really, but...

"That was awkward." Peeta chuckles and I smirk.

"Tell me about it. I can't wait to tell Annie though." Peeta smiles and nods.

"Just wait here for a second. I'll be back!" I take off down the hallway, glancing at trophies and photographs that line the walls. Soon, I reach the locker room and swoop my belongings into my arms. When I reach Peeta, he is staring at his phone, which he is holding with his thumbs swiping over incredibly fast. He looks up, smiles, and shoves it back into his front pocket of his jacket.

"Ready to go?"

"Yup." I reply, popping the 'p'. We walk down the hallway, me in front because my legs take longer strides than his, in comfortable silence. When we enter the parking lot, I immediately find my car with his next to it.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I question Peeta, hand on hip, eyes narrowed playfully.

"Fate made it to be this way!" He exclaimed. I blushed and looked down and he laughed nervously, realizing what he said. I decide to break the uncomfortableness first.

"Great job today, Peeta. I'll see you at seven." He nods, grateful for my save, which I'd odd, since I'm the one usually at loss for words.

"You too, Kat. See you soon!" He sends me off with a single wave and hops in his car. Peeta drives away and for two good minutes, I sit there, alone in my car. I shake my head in amusement of how much two days of Olympic team involvement can change you.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I just want continue to thank you for your support. I'm so excited for London (well, in the story. I can't actually go to London). Expect updates from every three to four days. In this chapter, I have included my own song, Simply. So you can't have it! Also, if you are confused about Katniss's father's death, please re-read the AN of chapter two. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games characters, Ta Ra Rin (or it's menu choices), Matador Restaurant, of the Spanish language.

CLAIMER: I DO own the song 'Simply', and the plot of this story.

-A Heart

"Katniss! Put on the flippin' dress! You are supposed to look nice! You're going on a date! Your first since-" Prim stops her rant short, proving that she is smart enough to stop talking before she gets a shoe thrown at her blond head.

"I'm going! God! We have half of an hour!"

"No, now we have fifteen minu- wow." I step out of the room with a sleeveless floral print party dress on, hair up in a messy bun, and Converse sneakers.

"You look good, but at least put on some flats."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"How but hair?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Prim slumps against the leather couch in our hotel room's living room. She huffs exasperatedly and blows a stray piece of hair out of her face.

"Peeta should be here any second now. Go fill your messenger bag, mom left a forty on your dresser." I nod and jog into my room, snatching the dollar bill that was lazily placed on the furniture. A ding comes from the front hallway, signaling the arrival of my date.

I release a breath that I didn't know I was holding and walk to the door. Twisting then handle, I press against the door forcefully, but nothing happens. I try again, and like before the door doesn't budge. Peeta knocks this time, and I begin to get anxious. 'Come on, come on' I mutter.

"Katniss..." Prim starts. I turn to her, and my eyes shoot daggers, not in the mood to hear about how I'm keeping Peeta waiting. "You have to pull, not push." My eyes grow wide and my cheeks redden from embarrassment. Quickly, I swing open the door and plaster a huge, fake smile on my face. Peeta can tell, but he ignores it.

"Hi Peeta. Sorry about that." He looks nice, dress pants and a button up shirt, hair messed up perfectly. "You look great."

"Thanks, and no problem. You look fantastic, by the way." I blush and mumble an incoherent 'thank you'.

"Yeah, well, Prim kind of forced me out of the track shorts and striped tank I was going to wear, so we can bow down to her for my presentableness." I state sarcastically, and Peeta chuckles as I let out a snort.

"Hey, I first met you in that green running shirt that was obviously loved very much and those tiny blue shorts, and I still asked you to join me tonight." This makes me snicker at his choice of words and memory.

"It concerns me that you remember that I was wearing tiny shorts but can't recall the fact that I was wearing a yellow shirt."

"Yellow, green, potato, patato." Peeta waves off my accusation with a wave of the hand.

"Good to know, Pete."

"Ha ha ha."

"What?" I say innocently. "Peeta, Pete, potato, patato. Same thing." I receive a meaningless glare and I happily send one back.

"Okay, okay. I get the point. Let's go." He lays a gentle hand on my back leading me out the door. As we step out into the hall, I quickly stick my head back in.

"Bye Prim! Tell mom and dad I'll be home by..." I glance at Peeta, who mouths 'ten'. "...ten! Don't burn down the hotel or feed all of food to some sick animal! Mom already had to go shopping twice this week because of you making those dog treats! Can't you get a fish?" The last thing I hear is Prim laughing at my stupidity; of course she will be feeding an feline of recusing a diseased squirrel that she came across while on her bike, traveling to the nearby convince store for a bag of chips and a orange soda. That's right, I already know her story.

"So... how is this Ta Ra Rin place? What do you usually get?" Turning to Peeta, I question him about tonight's menu.

"Well, I love the Red Curry and the Khao Pad Ga Prow. Anything spicy, really. What do you like? I might be able to tell you what dish you should get."

"I love noodles. Nothing too spicy though, my stomach can't take it. Oh, and I'll eat tofu."

"You should get the Pad Thai then. Rice noodles, tofu, and lots of veggies."

"Sounds good." We lower ourselves into his car, my eyes immediately finding a radio dials. Peeta, who has turned the car on and currently backing it out of the parking space, smirks at me.

"Go right ahead." I give him a playful fist pump of victory and switch the dial. After pressing multiple buttons and quietly singing one or two lines of random songs before changing the station, I am finally satisfied. The music starts and I give Peeta a small smile, requesting the ability to please the itch to sing. He rolls his eyes and nods, focusing on the road again.

_You make it look complicated_

_You make it look difficult_

_You make it seem frustrating_

_When really the world is yours _

Peeta side-glances at me, mouth open, smile creeping up his lips.

_You need to figure out a motion_

_Something to cool your head _

_Cause right now you're making love look tired_

_Like something that is dead_

He is now shaking his head in disbelief as I throw my hands in the air, fingers drumming the dash board. He sighs and takes a deep breath, joining me for the chorus, mouth etched in full grin.

_But simply I'm falling_

_Simply I'm falling hard for you_

_Simply it's magic_

_Nothing you can explain or just... do_

_Simply it's like singing_

_Loudly when no ones home_

_Simply it's one word_

_Simply it's called love_

We smile at each other and my stomach drops. We make eye contact food a brief moment before I break it and look down, hiding my blush. What is with me and blushing? I think I need to get my cheeks checked out.

_The world may speak of the absence _

_Of true and faith_

_When really all you have to do is look deep enough _

_To find the space_

I am shaking my hips, face creating priceless expressions as I rock out to my favorite not so rock song,

_The space for your heart_

_Where it will simply cherish and grow_

_Simply you will be flying_

_When you realize that_

_it's not hard_

At 'flying', Peeta takes one hand off the steering wheel and spreads it out, shifting his balance, shoulders dropping, creating the 'airplane' symbol. Once again, he joins my for the chorus.

_But simply I'm falling_

_Simply I'm falling hard for you_

_Simply it's magic_

_Nothing you can explain or just... do_

_Simply it's like singing_

_Loudly when no ones home_

_Simply it's one word_

_Simply it's called love_

I let him sing this part by himself, after all he did sneak a puppy dog face at me when the chorus ended and I nodded, wanting to hear his raspy voice single, without my clear, higher pitched vocals included.

_And when you're fighting_

_Unconsciously within yourself_

_Whether or not to love the girl that makes it look easy_

_Remember that it's not hard _

Smiling widely, I clear my throat and Peeta winks at me. When the next verse plays, I thought he would be singing too, but I'm going solo.

_But that simply you're falling_

_Simply falling hard for her_

_And if simply it feels like magic_

_Then there's no need to explain just do_

_And if you simply feel like singing_

_Loudly when no ones home_

_Then simply you know you can _

_Simply call it _

_Love!_

I take a deep breath and and immediately start singing again, with Peeta this time. We are stopped at red light, so takes advantage of the situation and does a dance, slapping his large hands on the wheel, waving them, and molding them into fists, open hands facing upward, and Egyptian style. I shake my head in amusement and silently laugh, creating my voice to to have an unstable, light, airy tone lacing through it as I sing the next melody.

_But simply I'm falling_

_Simply I'm falling hard for you_

_Simply it's magic_

_Nothing you can explain or just... do_

_Simply it's like singing_

_Loudly when no ones home_

_Simply it's one word_

_Simply it's called love_

A beating sound comes from below my feet, making Peeta glance at me to see the cause. When he does, he sees my legs bouncing up and down and my feet beating the car floor below me with gentle force, in rhythm to the 'na na na's.

_Na na na na na _

_Na na na _

_Na na na na na_

_Na na _

_Ohhhh..._

We make eye contact for the last verse of the song and I blush, but do not look away.

_Simply I'm falling_

_Hard for you _

_And simply it's time to tell you_

_That you make me feel like_

_It can be so simple_

I still do not break away from our little moment, us staring into each other's eyes, still as a brick. My mind comes back to reality and put of my peripheral vision, I can see that the light turned green, and the cars in front of us were all gone, creating the scene behind us; an angry group of drivers are yelling unrepeatable words at us and honking their horns, making an unattractive sound.

"Uh... Peeta?"

"Yeah?" He answers, not looking away. I wave my hand at the stop light and then back at the crowd of vehicles.

"Go, go, go!"

"Oh! Yes, I should do that!"

"Yeah, you should." We finally start driving again and I dare to look back at Peeta, even though I know that it will create an unneeded uncomfortable silence. Luckily, Peeta chooses to break it.

"Sorry about that. You have an amazing voice, though." I blush at his words.

"It's fine. Thanks, by the way. You have a nice voice too." He ignores my compliment with a wave of the hand and continues to focus the conversation around me.

"We are five minutes away from eating amazing Thai food! So, who did you get your voice from? Mom or dad?"

"Well... My dad. When he sang, they said the birds stopped to listen. They did, I guess." Peeta furrows his brow at my use of past tense. Then realization hits him.

"Is your dad..."

"Dead? Yeah. He suffered a heart attack when I was fifteen. That's why I broke down after the one hundred earlier this afternoon. It was his favorite. I hadn't run one single one hundred since his... death." My voice cracks at the end and I realize just how much I had told him and how easily I had opened up. "Wow. I should not have told you that much."

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone. Does that mean that you didn't tell Finnick? He probably wanted an explanation, after all."

"Oh he did, but he didn't get one." Peeta nods understandingly and puts a hand on my arm reassuringly. We both turn out attention back to the road and I notice a large orange and blue sign that reads 'Ta Ra Rin' and Thai writing underneath it that, I'm guessing, stands for the name of the authentic restaurant.

"We're here!" Peeta bellows and I grin. He pulls into the parking lot and we step out of the car, overwhelmed by the smell of rice, spices, and beef. Apparently the look on my face showed me hunger or I made a sound because Peeta chuckled softly.

"I know, it smells good. I'm hungry too. Let's go in." He leads me to the front door, where the front of house takes us to a candle lit table in a corner. We are served ice water and tea and our server, Rungtiwa, asks in troubled English what we'd like to eat. Peeta turns to me and I tell him to order for me, since he knows what's best.

"We'll have a Pad Pet and a Rad Na." I look at Peeta suspiciously as he gives the waiter a warm smile and smirks at me.

"What did you just order for me?" I question, concerned that I will have to consume something extremely spicy.

"Rad Na is for you. It has wild rice noodles, brown sauce, eggplant, bamboo shells, and other good stuff." Wow. I'm surprised. He has a good sense of taste.

"Where did you get this sense of taste?"

"Oh. Back home in Wayne I'm the sous chef at Matador Restaurant. It's a Spanish tapas restaurant." I giggle- again with this giggle thing!- at Peeta's attempt at a Spanish accent.

"Oh! ¿Buena cominda? Me encanta la cocina espãnola, esos alimentos hermosa!"

"What?" Peeta asks, stunned by my fluent Spanish and almost perfect accent.

"I said," I roll my eyes, pretending to be irritated. "Oh! Good food? I love the Spanish cuisine, such beautiful food."

"Of course! How could I be so stupid. It was that 'cocina' that threw me off." He states sarcastically and I nod my head sympathetically.

"Here is your, ah, meal." I glance up to see our waiter carrying two steaming bowls, both looking absolutely delicious.

"Thank you." Peeta and I both say and we burst out laughing. This causes Rungtiwa to quickly place our bowls down and scurry away, a confused expression covering his face.

"Oh..." I gasp for breath and look down at my food. "This looks fantastic. Thanks for bringing me here."

"My pleasure. So," Peeta starts, pausing to blow on his food that has been placed carefully between chopsticks. "Where did you learn Spanish?"

"I, um, take AP classes at my high school. I'm sure you do too, but, yeah, Spanish included." I Plus, my grandmother lived in Spain from when she was twenty until she was fifty two, so we like to speak Spanish with each other." I look down, embarrassed by my bragging.

"That's so cool! You must be really smart. Wow. Have you ever been to Spain?"

"Mmm hmm. My mom was born there. She came here when she was twenty and met my dad two years later at a language course. She got a job teaching spanish-English translation and my dad just so happened to be taking the class. My dad had to quit the class, though. He didn't want his girlfriend to get fired because she was dating a student. Well, and, he already had her to teach him.

"Last year, actually, my mom took Prim and I to Spain. The place is gorgeous. We went everywhere, ate everything, and I loved every minute of it. David came with us. It was the happiest I had ever been since my dad died until Saturday when I won that race."

"That's awesome." I slurped down another fantastic noodle and watched Peeta intently.

"What about you? Have you traveled anywhere?"

"Yeah, two years ago my older brother Grant, he was twenty at the time, brought me to Estonia."

"Oh, that tiny country that borders Latvia?"

"Yeah. It's a beautiful place. Russian inspired everything. The buildings are really old, some still in ruins because of the war not too long ago. The food is delicious. My favorite thing is this cranberry pudding; Roosamannavaht. The rolling hills and everything. I could have stayed there forever."

"Wow. Thanks a lot. Now I really want to go to Estonia and eat Roosavam... whatever you just said!" I moan. I pinch the last bamboo shell and slump back in my seat in satisfaction while slurping hot tea.

"That was awesome."

"I know! The Pad Pet was so good. What do you want to do now? Oh, and no, I am paying. I didn't invite you here to have you pay for yourself." I huff and smile at him.

"Thank you. This has been great. Can I bring you somewhere know? Prim was telling me about this great place and this way, I can pay you back."

"Fine." Peeta turns to the waiter who has just taken the money and wished us a good evening. "Thank you. Good night." We stand up, stretching, and head for the door. I snatch the car keys that were lazily jangling in Peeta's limp hand. He grabs after me, but I dodge his reach. Waving the keys in front of his face, I tease him, putting on a sad face.

"What's the matter? You don't trust me to drive?"

"No, no, no! That's not it. It was just... instincts. You drive me where ever you what to go." My face lightens up and so does his as he sees mine do so.

"Thank you. Now get your butt in the car because I will not wait for you to be fully sitting, or even if you're halfway dangling out of the vehicle."

"Pushy, pushy." I give him a sweet, innocent smile and slide into the driver's seat.

"So, where is this that you are taking me?"

"Oh, its an ice cream place with awesome gram cracker ice cream. At least according to Prim it is. I can't remember the name for the life of me. She did give me directions though. Is that okay with you?" I send him a quick glance before averting my attention back to the road, where I am about to make a sharp left.

"Fine. Perfect, actually. Gram crackers are awesome. And so is ice cream. So what could be wrong?"

"Good point." I chuckle, taking another left and driving down an intersection. "Here we are!" I pull int a long strip of a building that is colorfully decorated. I grin as Peeta grabs my hand, sending chills down my spine.

"Hey! I'm Jonah! What can I get- wait a second! Aren't you too track runners? Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen! Oh my God! This is so cool!"

"Dude," I start, laughing. "It not like we are movie stars or anything. Just runners with a vision of London."

"You could be! Well, anyways, what can I get for ya?"

"I'll have a small gram cracker."

"Same." Peeta gives Jonah a grin as he walks off to fill our orders. "Well," he turns to me. "He is a, um, interesting character."

"Yeah, he is. Then again, he seems like every fifteen year old boy; put them in a room of ice cream and sprinkles and they start bouncing off the walls."

"Hey! I was fifteen only a mere two years ago!"

"Exactly my point." He glares at me and I laugh before turning back to the window where Jonah stands, inserting spoons into our frozen treats.

"That will be $7.50." I hand him a five, two ones, and two quarters, receiving two overflowing cups of tan ice cream.

"Thanks!" I chirp and Jonah nods to me as we walk away. Peeta turns to me, a sheepish expression plastering his face.

"Do you mind if I drop you off? I really need to head back to my hotel; I totally forgot that I promised my little cousin, Lila, that I would watch a movie with her. She lives right near here."

"Yeah, no problem. I should be getting back, too." I say as we slide into the seats and buckle up, preparing for our ten minute ride. We sit in comfortable silence the whole way, eating our ice cream. He walks me to my hotel room, even though I told him that it wasn't necessary. The gesture was small, but it made me think that chivalry still exists. Before I slide the key, I turn to Peeta.

"Thank you so much Peeta. I really enjoyed this. I really needed it too."

"No, thank you. I had a great time." He leans in and gives me a peck on the cheek. He then looks down and blushes, turns away and calls, "Goodnight Katniss!"

"Goodnight Peeta."


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back! Thank you so much for the reviews and everything! It means so much! This chapter is all about Peeta. The chapter is kind of short, which I apologize for, but I didn't want to overload you because this all of his history and background. The games are almost here! (In the story and in real life!) Looking forward to it! Well, anyways, enjoy the chapter! Please review!

-A Heart

"Excuse me. I have some news for you. The teams have been wanted earlier than expected in London due to rooming space and coordination. The only tickets we could get for the plane to fit the track team is for Thursday at 2:00. Your coach, Mr. Abernathy is already in London due to a Olympic team coaches' meeting. So, all team practices have been canceled. We will meet here at 11:00 in the morning on Thursday for tickets and instructions. Please have your passports with you and luggage.

"Now I know what you are thinking; what about our coaches? Well, we have exchanged their flights too. Family-wise, well they don't need to be in London yet, but they are welcome to change their tickets as well." Effie Trinket chirps into the microphone loudly, standing on top of a small wooden platform to address the team. She looks extremely official in her designer suit and maroon high heels, clutching a clipboard in her left hand, phone in the other.

There is a murmur of confusion, excitement, and nerves before she coughs, grabbing our attention.

"Mr. Abernathy informed me to tell you all that this will affect your training schedule. Please practice with your trainers up until Thursday, and then we will be given a track and all the equipment we need to train in London. This should answer all your answers. If it doesn't, talk to your trainers or you will have to wait until we get to London, because I don't have any more information. Thank you. You may go now." She gives us a small smile before stepping off the platform. I turn to Peeta, wide eyed, excited for the upcoming trip.

"Peeta, I'm going to head back to the hotel. I need to fix my training schedule and talk to my family about London. But I will call you later about, maybe we can do some training together? Or hang out?"

"Yes, absolutely. Do you need a ride back?"

"Well, I was going to call David to come pick me up, but if you were going back too, then that would be great."

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm just going to say goodbye to Gale and tell him I'm heading back. He is staying at the same hotel as me." Peeta tells me. He walks around, stretching his neck, looking for Gale. "Where is he?"

"He's probably somewhere with Madge... oh, there they are!" I point to the two, who are doubled over laughing, and we jog to them.

"Hey Gale. I'm going to go in back to the hotel, but first I'm dropping of Kat here, since she needs a ride."

"Okay. Wait, before you go, do you know any good ice cream places around here?" Peeta and I smirk at each other and I answer Gale.

"Well, yesterday we went to, um, Maddie's, was it?" Peeta nods, confirming my suspicions. "It was really good. The gram cracker ice cream is to die for. Just put it in your phone." Gale smiles and Madge looks excited.

"Well bye guys!" The pair waves to us and we walk off to Peeta's car. I shift my head to look at the talented boy beside me once we are buckled in and driving. I study his focused face, feeling an odd sense of deja vu.

"All right. I know that this is totally random and I might come off slightly crazy, but, have we met before the Olympics?" Peeta stiffens and glances at me, eyes wide.

"What makes you ask that?"

"Well, I had this odd feeling looking at you before that I have seen you else where."

"Um, well, yeah. I didn't bring it up since I thought you had forgotten and I did not want to embarrass you." He smiles awkwardly at me, a sheepish expression on his broad face.

"Embarrass me? Oh God... this can't be good."

"The story starts in first grade. My parents has just opened up a bakery in Westford but I was going to Littleton schools. It was the middle of the school year when I transformed to Littleton and that day, I had happened to have brought a new bread recipe that my dad was trying out in my lunch box. I made my own lunch. Little did I know that the bread was a discard and was going to be thrown away. Anyways, I'm sitting by myself at lunch time when a little girl with two braids in a red plaid dress comes up to me, asking of she could sit with me. This girl so happened to be you, Katniss.

"I was so ecstatic that someone had noticed me, acknowledged me, talked to me, oh, not to mention the fact that person was a very pretty girl," He took the pause as an opportunity to look away from his driving and watch me blush. Seeing him smirking at my redness, I scowl. He just chuckles and continues. "So, as I was saying, I was so excited that I offered you a piece of this supposedly awesome bread, and you, being the polite six or seven year old you were accepted. I was so busy watching your expression for me to try it myself, and I was glad that I didn't when your happy face suddenly turned a sickly shade of green and you threw up. On my lap. In front of the whole first and second grades.

"The business failed later that year and I moved to Pennsylvania in the summer before second grade. Ever since that day, anytime I talk about a girl, even if it is a friend, project partner, what ever, they day something like, 'Is she pretty? Is she going to throw up on you because of your smell?'. Apparently the endless teasing 'never gets old'."

I stare at him, gaping in awe.

"You have a fantastic memory. How could you remember all of that?"

"It was a pretty traumatic experience." He says, looking at me serious. I smack his arm and he raises is hands in surrender. "Kidding, kidding. No, you were my first friend, maybe even best friend. We still hung out and played together after the incident, but my mother was not happy about it. But who cares what my mother thinks?" He growls the last sentence angrily, unconsciously rubbing his arm. My eyes grow wide, realizing the meaning of the arm touch.

"Peeta..."

"Yeah?"

"She hits you, doesn't she?" His grimace at my words answer my suspicions. "Oh my God, Peeta! How can your dad not do anything about it? That's horrible! Why?" I stare at him in wonder and confusion.

"Katniss, shh. I'm fine. When my birthday comes on August fifth, I'll be eighteen and I'm leaving. But, to answer your questions, my dad tries, he really does, he is a good man but he is just not powerful enough. She does it because she has had a traumatic past, which left her with anger and sorrow but nothing to get the stress out on. So, she takes it out on us. It's sad, really. We've tried getting her to participate in therapy but that attempt failed miserably. I still love her, though. I just feel so bad for her, because at times, she can be very pleasant. My brothers and friends say I'm stupid and only tricking myself, but they also say I love passionately. When I care for something or someone, like my best friends, it's never ending. So, what I'm think happened is that before she started abusing us, I loved her, when I was little. The love never died and there is still some flames, like a never ending fire. I'll always find the coal needed." He looks at me with a sad face, but I look back at him with an expression of amazement.

"Peeta, that was the saddest but most beautiful thing I've ever heard. By the way, when you say 'best friends', do you mean..." I trail off, finding myself feeling embarrassed that I would even think that the blue eyed boy beside me would have cared about me since first grade. We suddenly come to a stop, making me glance up. The large green sign in front of me reveals that he had pulled into the hotel's parking lot. I reach down to grab my bag, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. Gray eyes meet blue and he stares at me with a look of truth and nothing else.

"Yes, Katniss. I've always cared about you. Ever since that disgusting yet magical lunch in first grade." Peeta cups my chin and leans in, bringing his lips to mine. His are soft and gentle, and taste like cinna- wait a second. I can't be kissing Peeta! The last thing that I need is a distraction from the Olympics. I come to my senses an pull away. Quickly, I gather my thing and open the car door, but don't step out with out taking a final look at Peeta.

"I'm sorry. I really like you, but I can't do this right now. I just came out of a hard relationship, well, maybe not 'just', but, yeah. And I can't have the distraction with the games and everything. Can we please just be good friends, maybe even best friends and nothing more until at least after the Olympics?"

"Yeah, sorry Katniss. I should have thought that one through. I guess you know I like you now, which is good." He gives me a small smile and I shoot him a sheepish face before stepping out of the car, waving goodbye before walking inside.


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome to chapter five! You guys are all so awesome, just for reading this, let alone the reviews and everything else. Just to let you know, it's very helpful as a writer to know that people liked the story or are confused.**

**We have a problem. I have a great amount of reviews, but only FOUR of them are from actual writers and authors on FanFiction. This means that it shows up that I only have four reviews. My question is, as a writer, would you want someone to review your work? If the answer is yes, which I hope it is, please review mine and I will review yours. I promise. And you can trust me with my promises. Give me a couple of days, but I will. If I don't, you can bug me with an obnoxious amount of PMs and constantly remind me to. So, review! Anyways, enjoy! **

**DISCLAMIER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES CHARACTERS! **

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE IDEA. **

**-A Heart **

I clucked my tongue impatiently, would my mother ever get off that stupid phone? Glancing up, I see her walk into my hotel bedroom, holding up two fingers, signaling that she could talk to me about London in two minutes. However, she had done that symbol a total of eight times in the last twenty five minutes. Good God. Wait, what is that I hear? Did she just say goodbye? And is that footsteps? My mom walks into the room, a fake, irritated smile plastered on her face.

"Sorry about that, Katniss. My boss doesn't understand the meaning of time off, break, or vacation. What do want you want to talk about?"

"Well, today at practice, Effie Trinket, that's Haymitch Abernathy's assistant," I look at her to make sure she has processed everything. She gives me a nod, telling me to continue. "She told us that we have to leave for London, early, this Thursday. The tickets are payed for and the coaches expenses have been worked out. I was wondering if you want to come early or not.

"To tell you the truth, you really don't have to come early. We will just be training there. You are welcome to, if you want to do sightseeing. It's totally up to you." She looks deep in thought and there is a moment of silence before she begins.

"I think that we will just stay here until our scheduled flights. Prim and I had planned for time for sightseeing when we booked the flights on Saturday. David will be with you, and you can spend time with your friends. Okay?"

"Yeah, mom, that's fine. When are you coming?"

"The twenty second."

"Okay. I need to call Peeta, so I'll be in the other room." I give her a final nod and proceed to the next room, which has a large T.V., a coffee table, a red couch and brown leather love seat, and pictures and paintings that line the pale yellow walls. Quickly typing in Peeta's phone number, which I have memorized, I hold the device on my ear, pacing back and forth throughout the room like I always do when on the phone. I'm sure my mother gets annoyed with the repetitive sound of footsteps in-

"Hello?" I jump a little at the sound of his rough, sweet voice, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Hey Peeta. It's Katniss!"

"Ah, Kitty Kat!"

"Peeta..." I warn, my voice threatening and low.

"I know, I know." Peeta says reluctantly. He says his next words mimicking a high pitched, chirpy voice that sounds nothing like mine, as he says it represents. "I'm lucky I get away with Kat as it is and you can easily come over and kick my butt if I continue. With the nicknames. If I force you that far, you will make my time in London seem very long. And not in a good way." He switches back to his regular voice, the one I prefer much more. Though his tone is sarcastic, it is also light and airy, a laugh lacing it. "I have heard it all before."

I giggle at his Peeta-ness and smile goofily.

"Hey, you know it's true!"

"Darling, I really don't want to find our whether or not you can kick my butt, because Im pretty sure you can, and I don't want to be the one to give you a reason to have this butt be the butt you are kicking in your practice of skilled butt kicking." He gulps for air on the other line. There is a pause before my voice, humored but slightly confused is heard.

"What?"

"I said, darling, I really don't want to find out whether or not you can kick my-"

"Peeta!"

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to repeat it!"

"I know, I just wanted to get a rise out of you. Which I did. Peeta, one. Katniss, zero." This causes me to chuckle involuntarily, which turns into an out right laugh. Peeta starts to laugh on the other end, which leads to him gasping for air and me hiccuping because of my irregular breathing patterns.

"Okay, okay. So... what's up Kat?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a five miler. David canceled my twenty that I planned because he said that that's only for marathon training and I need to strengthen different muscles. However, I still want to get in some miles for today. What do you think?"

"That sounds great, actually. I do need to run. Where and when?"

"Do you want to meet me here and we can decide from there?"

"'Kay."

"Oh, and, let's see, it's one thirty now, how about two fifteen?"

"See you then."

"Alright, bye Peeta."

"Bye Katniss." I stuff my phone into my pocket and walk back into my bedroom, scooping out my teal running tee that has 'Running Wild' written across the front in yellow lettering, blue shorts, and undergarments. Closing the door for privacy, I quickly and swiftly put on the clothing, finishing in less than a minute. I'm about to leave the room when I hear a soft vibration coming from the denim shorts I was previously wearing. I whip my phone put again and press the 'talk' button.

"Hello?"

"Katniss. It's me, Peeta, again."

"Oh hey Peeta. What's up?" 'Please don't cancel, please don't cancel' I pray silently.

"Gale and I were talking, and, long story short, can he join us for the run."

"Oh, yeah, definitely." I pause, not wanting to sound pushy or eager. "As long as it's okay with you, I mean."

"It's fine with me."

"Okay, I'll see _both _of you at in twenty minutes."

"We'll be waiting outside your door at 2:10."

"Yeah, that's not creepy." Peeta chuckles and I let an airy giggle escape my lips.

"See you."

"Bye." I hang up, shaking my head in amusement, and start skipping into the kitchen where I need to drink water before I go and attach my iPod onto my shorts.

Before I know it, I am answering the hotel room's door.

"Hey guys. Come on in. Let me just say bye to my mom." They both give me a small smile and a nod, Gale and Peeta, that is.

"Bye Mom!" I holler a bit too loudly and she pops her head around the corner of the hallway, glaring at me, pointing to her ear and I realize that she is on the phone again. I cringe and give her a sheepish grin, waving before I go back to the boys waiting for me in the doorway,

"Ready to go?" I ask the boys, snapping a thin, purple sweatband around my head. Peeta glances at Gale for confirmation and then back at me, giving me a large grin.

"Yup!" With my hands, I usher them out of the door and we walk in comfortable silence down the hallway. After glancing back at them, I process that Gale is trying very hard to either remember something or think if something. Peeta, on the other hand, is smiling lazily with a dreamy look on his face, on that makes me want to crack up. As soon as we step into the elevator, Gale snaps his fingers and points at me, startling Peeta and myself.

"That's what I was going to say! Okay, so Katniss, Peeta was telling me about you singing in the car with him and how beautiful your voice is," He pauses mid sentence to watch the exchange between me and Peeta with an amused expression. At his words, I raise one eyebrow at Peeta, a trick I have practiced to many times before in the mirror, finally accomplishing it just a few weeks ago. Peeta looks down and blushes, hiding away from my stare. With an unsatisfied sigh, I turn back to Gale, allowing him to finish his thought as we walk into the lobby of the hotel.

"Anyways... I was wondering if you still do the competitions." My eyes widen when I realize what he is talking about, but I keep them focused in front of me.

"Gale, I stopped doing those a long time ago. You know, after my dad died..." I trail off, but Gale stops dead in his tracks, looking straight at me, Peeta standing behind him with a curious expression.

"Katniss. Excuse me for saying what I am about to say, because I know it will make you uncomfortable, but listen. I know it is hard that your dad died. And I am dying inside because I should have been there for you and I wasn't. I was your best friend for Pete's sake! What kind of friend was I for that? A pretty crappy one. I also know that you love singing. But so does your dad. I get that it reminds you of him, and everything, but it's time to start living your life. For so many years, you have been working to make everyone around you happy. It's time for you to be happy. Now, before you interrupt, I want to say this. I may not be the best with words, but you know that I can read people like anything. This means that I know that you are trying to be happy, and you almost are, with the Olympics and everything, but you are missing the piece to the puzzle. The ding to the dong. Whatever you want to call it. That piece is singing Katniss. And I don't mean in the car, I mean in front of a crowd, pouring your soul out."

I stand there, looking completely dumbfounded, and close to tears because what Gale said was the truth. The raw, naked truth that came out and jumped at me, making me realize that it's time to get over your dad. I nod profusely in absolute agreement, and Gale and Peeta, who both notice the tears in my eyes, envelope me in a hug.

So there we stand, in the middle of the hotel lobby, hugging. Peeta must have realized the situation because after a minute, he wriggles free of our tangled limbs and says, "Let's go run."

As we come to a short stop, Finnick and Gale are clutching their sides, panting uncontrollably, and staring at me as I easily take my headphones out of my ears and stretch my legs.

"Good grief, girl. What was that, four minute miles?" Finnick questions, shaking his head in disbelief. I decide to play fresh and answer him with a smart remark.

"No, it was seven point three seven minute miles." I put my hands on my hips, clicking my tongue in mock disgust. Peeta snickers at our exchange but then looks at me seriously, causing me to stare into his ocean blue eyes as he watches every twitch of my gray.

"Really, Katniss. That was unbelievably fast. How do you do that? Run long distance so fast, I mean. We train different muscles as sprinters."

"I think it's in my genes. Both of my parents ran like crazy." Gale nods his head, agreeing with my words.

"She's right, her dad was a maniac." He must have noticed my sudden discomfort because he is quick to change the subject. "So... how's Prim, Catnip? Is she around? I want to see her." Yup, that brightened my mood.

"She's fantastic. I am almost positive that she is in the room right now, she has summer homework that she brought with her that I think she is working on. Come on up." We walk back through the lobby and into the elevator, me in front with Peeta and Gale behind me chattering mindlessly.

Soon we reach my room and I slide my key into the slot, opening the door with a click.

"Pr-" I begin to call, but Gale shushes me, asking in a hushed whisper 'can I?' I nod and watch him clear his throat in amusement.

"Oh, Prrriiiimmmm!" He calls, his voice high and excited. Prim walks in the room, confused, and stares at me in annoyance.

"What?" She questions, and I point to Gale giggling. He mimics the tone again.

"Primmy!" He attacks her with a hug, causing her to let out a surprised yelp. She pulls back, breaking away from his grasp.

"Do I know you?"

"Prim! I'm offended! How could you forget the eleven year old boy that you black mailed into taking you to Prom when you were five?" Peeta and I crack up, gasping for breath as Prim's eyes widen and this time she lunges at Gale.

"Gale?"

"That's me! Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot! Only four more years until you can fulfill that promise, by the way."

"Looking forward to it. You'll be seventeen and I'll be twenty three. Fantastic." Gale says sarcastically and Prim giggles.

We head over to the couches and begin a long conversation, me and Prim catching up with Gale, Peeta telling jokes, and eating a lot of cheese curls.

**Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter six! Now, before I start my rant, I want to thank you for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, you name it. Thank you soooooo much! **

**Grrr! This is so annoying! So I decided that I wanted to skip the run, because I would have been describing Katniss, Gale, and Peeta run for twenty-something minutes, and who cares about that, so I put in a few dashes. But no! They just wouldn't show up, would they! I am so sorry about the confusion, and I am going to figure this put. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to PM me. **

**Thanks again and enjoy!**

**-A Heart**

**P.S. Remember my deal about reviewing! 'wink wink' If you forget or don't know about it please check out the author's note on Chapter Five!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES' CHARACTERS!**

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY! :) **

Tuesday passed by freakishly fast. David and I did some training and then we went out for dinner at this great burger place. This morning, Prim begged me to watch a Harry Potter movie marathon with her and by twelve o'clock, my mom was yelling at me for not packing my stuff back up. But the marathon was not over, so no, I could not start yet. Which leads me to now. Seven thirty two, me, running around my room, a splashing lemonade in hand, two shirts in the other, hair half in a high ponytail, the other hanging randomly in places on my head. Attractive. Note the sarcasm.

Peeta keeps texting me, asking 'what's up?' and 'r u busy' which is extremely annoying to me because, one, after an hour of ignoring his flipping texts, you'd think he'd realize that yes, I am busy, and two, is it too much work to write out a word? I roll my eyes at the sound of my phone buzzing and stuff a pair of lazily folded capris into my large purple roll-on suitcase.

This time my phone starts singing, and I sing along to the small amount of lyrics that I am allowed to hear before I pick up the device and answer it.

"Hello?" I answer, irritated that I have constantly been interrupted from my packing.

"Katniss!" Peeta's voice sings and I sigh. He is way to cheerful for me now. I mean, hes great and everything, but not when I have two Hours to pack up this whole room! Oh, wait- he's still on the line. Let's get this over with.

"Hi Peeta. What do you need?" I try to say sweetly but it comes out cold and harsh. I grimace at my voice and scowl. Really Katniss? Do you have to be rainbows and lollipops and then all Grinch-y? The boy has been nothing but friendly to you. Happy thoughts, let's by pleasant. I take a deep breath and start over.

"I'm sorry, that came out the wrong way. What can I do for you?"

"That's okay. We all have our moments. I was just making sure that you were okay. I have been texting you and you haven't replied, so I wanted to make sure you weren't kidnapped or anything."

"Thank you for thinking of me, but no, I'm not kidnapped. Just in my hotel room trying to pack. I haven't been answering my phone because I got a late start- well, _really _late start, and have a lot to get done."

"Oh! I'll let you go then. See you tomorrow at eleven."

"Bye Peeta." This boy never ceases to amaze me with his strange but thoughtful behavior. Whatever, I can't drone on it, I have packing to do. Fun.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Lets go Ms. Everdeen! Chop, chop!" Effie calls, tapping her heeled foot impatiently.

"I'm coming!" I sneer, throwing my bag in front of me and pushing I aggressively. I look up at see Annie grinning up at Finnick, who is looking down on her flirtatiously, hand on hip, small smile, and telling her some kind of joke. Peeta is staring at Gale in what seems like disbelief, blushing furiously as Gale giggles uncontrollably, slapping his leg. Peeta glances around and manages to become even more red when he sees me. Why is he blushing because of me- are they talking about me? I stalk over to him, glaring and stomping as I walk.

"Are you talking about me?" I accuse the two, and Gale cracks up even more, tears flowing freely down his face.

"No!" Peeta replies a little too quickly, causing me to look at him suspiciously.

"Aw, come on Peeta. You can't lie to the lady." Gale scolds, turning back to me. "Yes, we were talking about you. Peeta here, well, he has this c-"

"Shut up, Gale." I growl at him, sensing Peeta's discomfort and the fact that I probably don't want to know. "Leave Peeta alone."

"Do I want to know?" I ask Peeta, my tone much sweeter than previously. He shakes his head, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. His hair is thrown about messily and a few of those gorgeous curls fall over his memorizing eyes- whoa there Katniss. Focus, girl. This is not the time to drone on about a beautiful boy. No matter how beautiful. Or how that shirt looks absolutely adorable on him..

"All righty, everyone is here. On the bus, now. Here we go!" Effie clucks and Peeta and I grab our bags without hesitation. Everyone scrambles onto the bus, pushing and calling dibs on people and seats like seven year olds.

The drive isn't that long, about twenty five minutes. Peeta and I sit next to each other, thumb wrestling for about five minutes, and then he tried to take a nap on my shoulder. I accidentally elbowed him in the stomach when, three minutes into his resting time, my arm falls asleep, resulting a consulting and soothing period from me to him. This ended with Gale and Madge, who were talking with Annie and Finnick, to turn around and make jokes. We finally arrive at the airport, making everyone more rambunctious, which I thought was impossible.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Hey! We're seat buddies!" I look up from my book to see a grinning Peeta.

"Cool. Window or edge? I can move."

"Oh no, that's fine, I can just look over your shoulder if I want to see." He throws his carry on bag over head and slides into the seat beside me.

"So..." I start, suspicious. "Last thing I had heard, I was next to Madge."

"Hee hee. Well, uh, I kind of switched with Johanna who had switched with Finnick so that he could be next to Annie, who had switched with Madge so that Gale could be next to her. So here I am!"

"Okay then..."

"Peanuts?"

"Really, Peeta? Peanuts?"

"I have goldfish too, if you want." I shake my head in amusement, letting a giggle escape my lips. This is becoming a problem, this constant giggling. It needs to stop.

"Welcome to American Airlines. We will be stopping in Portland, Vancouver in about two hours. The expected arrival time in 3:48 in the afternoon. Please watch the following video about airplane safety and we will be around with food and drinks momentarily. Thank you."

We turn our attention to the video, Peeta deeply intrigued by the instructions, where as I, who has flown many times, dazes off into a dreamless sleep.

"Kat, Kat, wake up. We have to go." I rub my eyes, peering up at a worried blue eyes.

"What?"

"We landed. We have a really short time slot in between flights, only enough to use the bathroom and bye a piece of pizza or whatever you want and then go."

"Oh, okay. Let's go." We file out, along with the the rest of the team, Effie, and others. I am quickly informed by a person whose name I think is Thom, that we only have twenty minutes. Peeta and I split up, both heading to our respected bathrooms and then him purchasing lemonades while I go and buy two salads. After I pay the cashier, I jog to our gate, waiting for Peeta. He soon shows up, our drinks carefully balanced in one hand and and a small bag in the other. I eye it, curious, and he notices.

"Cookies. There was a booth next to where I got the lemonades and they were hard to resist." I nod and we are ushered onto the non stop flight to London, first showing our tickets and IDs and being told 'good luck' by a security guard. As soon as we settle into our seats, this time it was me trading seats with a friendly long jumper named Bristel. We all are forced to listen to the safety instructions again and watch a video. We are also told that we will be given sleeping materials, pillows, blankets, et cetera, when night came.

"Hey," Peeta says, turning to me. "Remember when Gale mentioned being blackmailed by Prim?" He continues once he sees my nod, assuring him that I knew what he was talking about. "How'd he get blackmailed?" I chuckled at the memory, shifting my body to face him.

"Well, when Gale was eleven, he was literally in love with this girl, Alexa. Prim, who was five at the time, had a major crush on Gale, it was so cute. Anyways, she was absolutely horrified that Gale liked someone else, so she threatened to telling Alexa an embarrassing story of him."

"What story?" Peeta interrupts, and I smirk.

"In third grade he wet his pants in front of his whole class. He has problems with waiting too long." Peeta bursts into laughter at my side comment. "So, yeah. Prim threatened to tell Alexa if he didn't take her to Prom. Which, to her, at the time, was a magical night of princes and princesses. It didn't help that five year old Prim is flippin' adorable and she is, and to this day, extremely convincing."

Peeta grins at me and I get a tingly feeling in my stomach. No, this is not good. Just friends, just friends. I lay back in the seat and let my thoughts collapse in around me as Peeta does the same, I sigh and close my eyes, trying to escape them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven! Sorry that it's a little short, I just couldn't get myself write more (I don't want it to be too dramatic!) about this particular topic.**

**Who here watched the Opening Ceremonies? I did! They have to be one of the best parts of the Olympics, because its everyone of every different race, religion, culture, anything, are in a gigantic room together, not competing against each other, but celebrating together. I have also watched some of the soccer games that already started. **

**Anyways, thank you so much, the response to the last chapter was amazing! Thank you! Here comes the drama! Prepare for tears! (I wonder if you can guess who's tears they are...) **

**Oh! And I wanted to tell you guys that this week, I have soccer camp, so chapters might be sparse... But I promise to work on them whenever I get a chance! **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES' CHARACTERS! **

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY!**

**-A Heart**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"What?" I yell into the phone, pacing back and forth of the room, Peeta sitting on the couch looking at me with a worried expression.

We have been in London for two weeks now, and the opening ceremonies are in five days. Prim and Mom were supposed to arrive in the beautiful city today, but then I got a call.

"Honey, calm down. She is fine. They just have to do the surgery to get the cancer out of her, and then some tests, but she will be fine." At the sound of my mom's voice, I squeeze my eyes shut, allowing my fingers to massage the bridge of my nose.

"Can I talk to her?"

"Of course, here she is."

"Katniss!" Prim chirps into the phone, as cheery as ever, but I am willing myself not to cry.

"How you doing, Little Duck?"

"I'm okay, I'll be fine. I'm just upset that I'll miss the games. But, I can still watch them on T.V., I guess."

"Prim, I'm coming back to see you. I will leave tomorrow." I say seriously, picturing her at my words. Eyes widening, head shaking.

"Kat, no! You can't! This is your dream! Do it for dad, do it for you, do it for me!" She starts off yelling, but finishes in a hoarse whisper.

"Let me think about it Prim. I don't know if I can run like nothing's wrong when you are in Boston in the state you are in."

"Fine. But I am booking you a flight right back to London if you refuse to stay." I scoff and smile slightly.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too, Kat." I press 'end' and slump back into an armchair, then immediately leaning forward to place my elbows on my knees and bury my face in my hands.

"Katniss?" I feel a hand on my back, and I recognize the voice. Peeta. Without looking up, I make my reply short and simple.

"Peeta, I have to go." I jump up and sprint into my room, grabbing my suitcase and opening it.

"What? No, Katniss. At least tell me what's going on!" I continue to start packing as I answer.

"Fine. Prim was feeling nauseous and fainted. My mom found her and took her to the emergency room, where they found a cancer cell growing on her stomach. She will be okay; they found it at a very young stage and all they have to do is remove it and watch it. I can't let her go through this alone, though!"

"But she has your mom!" I drop the shirt I was folding and spin on my heel to look at the blue eyed boy.

"My mom has never been there for us!" I growl. "When my dad died, I pretty much took over for a year, as she sulked in her bedroom and let Prim suffer without her dad and me fail in school because I had to stay up late to make dinner and do homework, work, run, shop, whatever! You think that I was not devastating? Because I was! I was dying! This is exactly why I can love anyone, it will only hurt me. Gale left and it killed me. But I was stupid enough to think that he would be the only one to hurt me! And then my dad died and it made my realize; because of my mom, what happens when you love someone!" My eyes go wide as I realize how much I revealed to him. I squeeze my eyes shut and slam my fist into the suitcase, allowing it to repeat multiple times into I got a satisfying smack and I crumpled up in a ball on the floor.

"I can't do this Peeta. I can't."

"Yes you can Katniss. If you can't, then I sure as anything can't, and I'm pretty sure that I can. You are the strongest, bravest person I know, and what you just said proved that, not made you look weak like I know you think it does. Being afraid and sad gives you something to make you do things to make you feel happy again. Darling, we can't all have a perfect life, but we all deserve to make it better."

I nod at his words, sniffling. I then realize my task and feebly fold a tank top and place it clumsily into my bag. Suddenly, strong hands grip my shoulders and spin me around, causing my eyes to lock with Peeta's.

"What do you think you're doing?" He accuses, but gently.

"Packing." I mumble incoherently, looking down in shame.

"Why?"

"Because I need to go."

"Did Prim ask you to go?" Peeta asks, sitting down on the bed, and I follow in suit, tucking my feet under me.

"Well, no, but..."

"Did your mom ask you to go?"

"No, but, the thing is-"

"Katniss," Peeta interrupts. "Let me finish. No one is making you go but you. The team, on the other hand, needs you here. I need you here. These are one in a lifetime experiences, and you deserve it. Don't you want the crowds cheering for us as we walk the circle? What about the adrenaline rush before you take off across the left curve?"

Well, that did not do anything for you, Katniss. Just get back to packing. But I don't have time to, because Peeta starts up again.

"What did Prim say when you told her that you were coming home?"

"She said that she would be happy to see me." I lie, which causes me to look down and bite my lower lip. I look up again when I hear Peeta chuckling wanting to know the source of his amusement.

"You know, Kat, you are a horrible lier. What did she really say?"

"Ugh, fine. That she wanted to watch me on T.V. and that she was buying a plane ticket to send me back here if I refuse to stay here."

"See! She wants to see her big sister be in the Olympics! Don't deprive her of that! She is already in a traumatic experience, why not try and make it a little bit better by sound something for her, that you also really really really want to do?"

"I don't!" I shout, then realize that what I just said makes no sense. "I do not deserve this! What have I done? Nothing! You just can't see that! You are so stuck in some delusional fantasy where you and I have a perfect lfe and we are all good! I am nothing!"

"Fine!" He shouts back, competing for who can be the loudest. "I don't know why I am wasting my time trying to help and support you if I am such a burden and being stupid!"

"Then go!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" With my last remark, Peeta stalks out of the room and out the door, slamming it behind him. I hear him growl in frustration one last time in the hallway, and then I fall back on the bed, thinking 'what have I done?'


	8. Chapter 8

**Ladies and gentleman, chapter eight! Thank you all for the reviews and support! Is there anything that you want to see? PM me! Or review! Or both! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES' CHARACTERS, THE OLYMPICS, OR THE U.S.'S OPENING CEREMONIES OUTFITS! **

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY! **

**Smiles,**

**-A Heart**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Do we really have to where these stupid hats?" I glance at Madge, who is staring daggers at her navy blue beret, while I am holding my white skirt up like it's on fire.

"Do we really have to wear these skirts? I mean, really? We are athletes! We don't run in skirts!" I spit out in disgust and Madge rolls her eyes.

"I know! But, yes, we do." Turning around, I stomp of into the bathroom of Madge's hotel room to change into my Opening Ceremonies outfit. White knee length skirt, navy button up jacket, red, white, and blue scarf, white blouse, and navy blue beret with red and white details.

After my fight with Peeta, I feel asleep crying on my bed and decided to stay when I woke up. Peeta and I made an unofficial, unspoken agreement to not talk and to avoid each other at all costs. To tell the truth, I felt terrible about the whole situation. I also really miss him. I get to see him everyday at the meetings and the two practices we had in the five days between then and today.

It is five o'clock and we have to be at the Olympic Ceremonies stadium at five thirty. Madge invited me to head over with her, and I gladly accepted.

"Katniss! We have to go!" At Madge's voice, I clumsily grasp my bag, which has a jacket, my phone, and my camera.

"Coming!" I rush out to meet her and we race out of the hotel, apologizing to a few unfortunate people that happened be standing in the way as we ran out of the hotel.

"The taxi is..." Madge paused to look for our ride. "Right over there!" We arrive at the stadium minutes later, and after paying the driver, Madge and I sprint into the building. A man in the same outfits as ours, except he is wearing pants, much to my displeasure, recognizes Madge and leads us to a gigantic conference room. As we dispose of our belongings, but keeping our cameras, Haymitch enters the room, clapping his hands twice to get our attention. There is more than five hundred people in the room, and, to say the least, it is very loud.

"Everyone excited?" He yells and there is a chorus of 'yeah's that sing throughout the room. "Fantastic! Okay, so David Beckham just lit the torch, and in about in about forty minutes, they will start with Afghanistan. When they call the 'R's, we will head to the entrance calmly. Fencing will be holding our flag this year," He says, an turns to a woman who obviously fences. Someone in the sea of people starts clapping and soon everyone is clapping for the honored woman. Haymitch turns back to the crowd when the noise dies down. "Then we will walk out into the stadium. Cheer, wave, smile. Do not do anything stupid, rude, hurtful, et cetera. You guys are representing the U.S., for God's sake! Oh, and when the announcer announces us, I want you to be especially loud and happy. Remember to have fun!"

With that, he turns around, giving us a dismissal wave.

"Eeeee!" Madge squeals, jumping up and down. And, much to my reputation's dismay, can't help but jump with her.

"Uh, can you just, uh, sorry, uh..." Madge and I pause in our excitement to look impatiently at a stuttering blond male. Peeta. He clears his throat and looks me straight in the eye. "Can you please move?" My eyes widen at his rudeness and I freeze, taken aback. Madge coughs uncomfortably and I snap out of my shock. I plaster on a fake smile, knowing that he can see through it, and step aside, waving a hand with a little bit too much finesse to show him the path I made for him.

"Sure, and since you asked so nicely, I even moved the table for you!" I say in mock joy, giving the nearby table that most definitely was not in the way a small shove. He gives me a look that says 'really?', so I decide, well, two can play this game, right, and give him a look that says 'yes, really?'. He rolls his eyes and walks away, with a little extra swagger in his step.

"What's with him?" Madge asks after I scoff and turn back to her. My eyes widen as I realize that she didn't know about our, uh, small argument.

"Heh heh... Um, well, we kind of aren't on speaking terms right now, and when he had to talk to me, he decided to be extremely rude." She gives me a knowing look, then clears her throat, about to change the subject.

"So..." A smile playing in her voice, Madge bites her lip. "About your friend, Gale... What do you know about what he likes in us girls?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

There is a murmur of whispers in the crowd of United States Olympic athletes.

"Hey," I greet Madge, who was in the bathroom, as I see her head appear from the mob of people. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Yeah!" She exclaims excitedly. "They just started the 'S's! We are almost up!" I grin along with her.

"Who do you want to walk with?"

"Well, on the way back Gale stopped me and asked if we wanted to walk with him, Finnick, Annie, and, uh, Peeta."

"Well, I want to walk with our friends and he will have to deal with me being there."

"You go girl!" She says and I laugh, standing to stretch my legs before we go out. Madge drags me to our formed group and Annie walks over to me but is cut off by Haymitch's voice.

"Everyone! We are on the 'S's! Let's go!" Everyone begins to shuffle out of the room, the air filled with excitement and everyone goofing off with nervous energy. From ten hallway, we see other countries' teams ready to go. The outfits are colorful and creative, and some of the teams have only a few people that make up the entire team, three or four. A woman's voice blasts through the hallways, speaking, what sounds like an Asian language and then you hear a British male's voice.

"Tajikistan!"

There is a cheering in the crowds and you can hear music playing.

"Tanzania!"

Again, there is cheering and soon our five hundred something people team is moving up.

"Thailand!"

"Togo!"

"Tonga!"

"Trinidad and Tobago!"

At each name, there is an uproar and Madge clings to my arm, trying to rid of the nerves that overcome all of us.

"Tunisia!"

"Turkey!"

A gigantic group of people, Turkey, walk out the exit that leads to the stadium. Madge must be thinking the same thing, because she whispers to me, "And that's only one fifth of our team." I look at her with wide eyes and then glance around. Well, yeah, there is a lot of people in navy. A lot more than Turkey, that is.

"Turkmenistan!"

"Tuvalu!"

"Uganda!"

"Ahh!" Madge screams. "We are two away!" I chuckle at her reaction and move u with the rest of the team.

"Ukraine!"

Because of the large team that just got called, me, Gale, Finnick, Annie, Madge, and, uh, _him_, take a few large steps up. We are literally at the door because the team in front of us is made up of about five athletes. Gale grabs my hand, and my head snaps up to him, confused.

"Grab Madge's hand. Tell her to continue it down to Finnick. I'm taking us to the front." He whispers, starting to push through the mass of human. We move fairly quickly, and we have no problem reaching the front, which, smells remarkably better, if you ignore the multiple 'sorry's that I had to say in Gale's sake.

"Ahh... That's better!" Annie shouts over the sound of the United Arab Emirates entering the stadium.

"Here we go guys." I take a deep breath and squeeze Madge's hand and take Gale's. I would probably fall over if I didn't.

"The United States of America!" The commentator's voice booms thought the stadium and we all scream and clap, our mouths smiling as wide as they possibly can. We Dan along the pathway, waving at the cameras and spectators, as well as taking our own videos and pictures. As we walk, I see a fairly close camera and pull my group to the side.

"Hey!" I shout at the camera man, who looks in my direction. I point at us and he nods, understanding. Once we are sure that the camera is recording us, I whisper the task to my friends and Peeta.

"Okay," Gale says. "One, two, three..."

"WE LOVE YOU PRIM! GET BETTER SOON!" We all scream, me making sure that my voice could be heard over all of theirs. She is my sister, after all. As we jog away to get back to our spot in the group, I turn back to my friends.

"Hey, thanks guys. That meant a lot."

"Yeah, no problem." Gale shrugs, then leans down to whisper in my ear. "Peeta told me what happened, with Prim and everything. Including the fight."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

Soon, we reach the center of the stadium and are guided to our spot by officials in green and white who are dancing and clapping for us. I smile at one, a boy who looks about my age and winks at me, causing me to blush and turn away. I see dancers in white doing simple but tiring routines over and over again, and I take Madge's hands and dance with them for a few moments. When we finally come to a stop I glance around at the other countries and for the brief minutes that we stand there, I am in bliss.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey all! Thank you so much for your ongoing support! It means an unbelievable amount. So... how have you been? I have been fantastic! The U.S. team is doing fabulously, I'm really happy for them. I felt so bad for Michael Phelps when he didn't medal in the 400 IM! He has such a hard reputation to live up to. :( But congrats to Ryan Lochte, who swam beautifully! Also, the U.S. woman's basketball team won their first match. Oh, and a female swimmer from Rhode Island placed seconded in then 400 IM. I'm so excited for the track and field part! Eeeee! **

**Enjoy the chapter! **

**- A Heart**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Breathing heavily, I shoot up in my bed, tears rolling down my cheeks. I was one of the only ones to get to have a hotel room that was not occupied by more than one person, which was good for me and my nightmares. Me, alone in my room, only being surrounded by my thoughts. It was best this way, no one could hear my screams. I think...

Last night was so emotionally overwhelming. Annie cried and I was close to tears myself. Today is the beginning of the cycling, swimming, handball, basketball, men's gymnastics, and a continuation of woman's soccer. Finnick invited me to go to a gymnastics meet with the gang, and I greedily accepted. Prim has been doing gymnastics since she was three years old and is undoubtably talented. Her dream is similar to mine, except that she wants to medal in it, I, on the other hand, just wanted to get here.

A faint ding from the front hallway signals the arrival of David, my trainer.

"Come in!" I shout, walking to the door slowly, apple in hand.

"Hey!" David embraces me in a warm hug, literally jumping out of his skin in excitement.

"Woah, woah," I say, pulling back, a laugh lacing my voice. "What's with you?"

"What's with me? We are in London, baby! A dream come true for you and me!"

"Yeah, it is pretty awesome."

"Have you talked to Prim since last night and your little stunt with the cameras?"

"No, I was about to call her, but then you came in." I reply in mock exasperation.

"Well don't let me stop you, I want to talk to her too!" I roll my eyes and dial my mother's cellphone number.

"Kat?"

"Mom? Hi. I was wondering if I could talk to Prim."

"Oh." She states plainly, disappointment and hurt etched in her voice. "Uh, yeah, her she is. Oh, and Katniss?"

"Yes?"

"You looked really good last night."

"Thanks mom."

"Here is Prim."

"Katniss! Oh my God, you looked so good last night! It was amazing! The fire and leaves, oh, the dancing was so pretty!" I smile at David and put one hand up, four fingers opening and closing to my thumb to show that Prim was talking.

"Hey Prim. Did you hear what we said?" I ask, suddenly worried that she didn't see our call out.

"Yes." She answers in a small, fragile voice. "I cried. Mom did too." I smile sadly at her words.

"I'm so sorry Prim. You know that, right? All this time, I thought that bad things don't happen to good people, but you and Dad proved me wrong."

"But Katniss, that's exactly it. Dad's death made us better people, along with his memory. And for me, this cancer won't kill me. It will only make me stronger and a better person, because I, well maybe all of us, have a new sympathy for people that are sick. I also now know that I should take more risks because I might never get a chance to do it again. Oh, and that I should try new things; I found out that I am very good at video games from being so bored here in my hospital room." I chuckle, and allow a tear to slip out of my closed eyelids.

"Yeah, I guess you are right Prim. But I'm still sorry that you have to deal with this."

"I know you are. I am too."

"Hey, Prim, can David talk to you? He is here and bouncing off the walls, maybe your hyperness and and his will collide and make you both calm down a little." She giggles through the phone as I hand it to David.

"Prim!" He squeals and I scoff as I walk into the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and filling them with water. When I come back into the room, David is exclaiming something about the four hundred IM into the phone, using his hands to illustrate.

"Or not." I mutter, tapping him on the shoulder and handing him the glass. He accepts it, but ends up splashing water on himself.

"Okay Prim, I have to go. Your sister just spilled water on me." He tells Prim sullenly.

"I did not! It was all you!" I yelled, loud enough to be sure that Prim could here me.

"Bye, love you too." He presses 'end' and hands the phone back to me. "Thanks for the shower." He mopes and I roll my eyes at his childish behavior.

"Get a towel from the bathroom. I have to leave though, Gale, Madge, and a few others are going to the men's gymnastics.

"Alright. I'll show myself out. Bye, sweetheart." He waves and I mumble a 'bye, love you' as I head out the door, swinging my bag over my shoulder as I do so.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Hey Catnip." Gale says nervously.

"Hi... What's the matter? Why are you glancing around like you are about to be attacked by a herd of elephants?"

"A herd of elephants? Really?"

"Stop trying to change the subject!" I growl as Gale parks his European rental car into a parking space. I had met him at his room, which is in the same hotel as mine, unlike Madge's.

"Nothing, Catnip. Everything is fine." He sighs and steps out of the car.

"Okay..." I state suspiciously. "Wait a second, I thought Madge was coming with us!"

"She is riding with Peeta and Finnick. They are in the hotel. It made more sense."

"How is Annie getting here?"

"She was sightseeing with her younger brother, Vick, who is eighteen, and he is dropping her off." Once again, he glances around the parking lot anxiously.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"No. Well, maybe, did you hear? Madge and Peeta are going out now."

"What?" I question. What? Just yesterday Madge was asking about Gale and Peeta acted like a jerk right in front of her! And, I don't know, eighteen hours later, she is dating him. I snap out of my thoughts and stare at Gale in shock. "Aren't you upset about this?" He shrugs, but not the 'I'm cool so I can't share my feelings' shrug, but a 'it's all good' and not sarcastically.

"Not really. Madge and I were never in a relationship." His voice is more high pitched than usual and I shake my head in confusion, walking towards the entrance of the gym.

"I don't know what is up with you, but something is up. I am going to push it away for now, so I can enjoy my time tonight. But I will find out what is going on."

"Nothing's up!" He exclaims, his voice cracking, running to catch up with me. A security guard walks up to us and Gale and I silently show him our U.S. Olympic team IDs that allow us to be here. He nods and we continue on.

"Of course there isn't." I say in fake sweetness. "Hey! Look! There is everyone!" I point over to Finnick, Annie, Madge, and Peeta. Peeta seems to hear my voice and spots us walking towards us and immediately kisses Madge on the cheek. She blushes a deep red and looks down. Finnick also sees us and waves us over.

"Hey guys!" He greets, and Gale sits down, leaving a seat next to Madge and Gale. Great. Madge will be goo goo over Peeta and Gale will be acting all fidgety. At least gymnastics are incredibly entertaining.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The U.S. men's team did fantastically. There was a few uncomfortable, painful looking falls, but they were allowed to drop one score per event, so they did great. Madge and Peeta were hesitant and shy about their displays of affection, and always ended up looking at me before performing them, which made it very awkward at some moments. Gale settled down and Finnick and Annie were awesome to be around, they kept conversations going and Annie knew more about gymnastics and every flip and why this person got a 1.367 deduction and this person got a 0.846. Pretty impressive.

As Gale and I are walking to the car, Peeta and Madge approach me.

"Katniss," Madge catches my attention, and I turn to the couple.

"Just so you know, we are are dating." Peeta says bashfully, yet his eyes are searching my face for a reaction.

"Yeah, I know..." I narrow my eyes at him. "Why are you telling me? You'd think that I'd know with all of the kissing you two have been doing." Madge blushes and looks down and Peeta scowls at my remark. Madge glance back up at me and replies in a small voice.

"We just wanted to be sure. Bye Katniss." They walk away to Peeta's car where Finnick stands and I notice that he shakes his head and grimaces at Peeta.

"Well that was strange." I say as I slide into the car. Gale remains silence the whole drive back and mumbles a small 'goodbye' when we part ways in the hotel.

"Goodbye Katniss, thanks for coming, I had a good time." I say out loud in frustration at Gale's strange, nervous behavior as I step into my room. "How hard is it to say that? Something is eating at him." Unsatisfied with my little answers, I get back up and decide to get some exercise and walk over to Madge's hotel, only a block away.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Third floor, room eighteen." I mutter over and over again, recalling Madge's room number as I step int the elevator alone. Seconds later, I am roaming the third floor in search of room number eighteen.

"Yes, Gale, but Katniss didn't react." I stop short at the sound of mine and Gale's names. The voice, I recognize that voice! Peeta! I swiftly walk towards the door from which Peeta's aggravated voice was traveling through and noiselessly pressed my ear to it.

"What did she say?"

"Ugh, why does she have to be so indifferent!" Is he talking about me? I am not- okay, yes, I can be a little indifferent.

"But Madge said that she can tell emotions and that Katniss didn't seem the least bit jealous!" I freeze. Jealous?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**Haha! I feel evil! I left you guys hanging there! Review and I will update quicker (the science behind this: if you say you like it, I feel guilty for leaving you there and update)! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that this chapter is late, I have been so busy. But here it is! The response to the last chapter was fantastic! Thank you! I tried really hard to get this chapter up quickly! **

**The U.S. team continues to excel in the Olympics, in second place on medals, following China! Remember to cheer on you favorites! Go Allyson Felix, my favorite Olympian, who is a sprinter!**

**Also, I know that this chapter is OOC, for both Katniss and Peeta... So no need for flames! I also know that Madge is supposed to be Katniss' age, but she isn't in this.**

**All right, on to the chapter! **

**Enjoy! **

**-A Heart**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES' CHARACTERS!**

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY! **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"Yes, Gale, but Katniss didn't react." I stop short at the sound of mine and Gale's names. The voice, I recognize that voice! Peeta! I swiftly walk towards the door from which Peeta's aggravated voice was traveling through and noiselessly pressed my ear to it. _

_"What did she say?" _

_"Ugh, why does she have to be so indifferent!" Is he talking about me? I am not- okay, yes, I can be a little indifferent. _

_"But Madge said that she can tell emotions and that Katniss didn't seem the least bit jealous!" I freeze. Jealous?_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Fuming with anger, I bang on Peeta's door impatiently with a clenched fist.

"Hold on Gale, someone's at the door, probably cleaning service." Peeta's voice is heard, slowly growing louder as he approaches the door. When I hear the handle turning, I put both hands on my hips, head cocked, eye brows raised as I prepare to shoot daggers with my glare.

"Hi, I don't need cleaning right now- Katniss?" His jaw drops, eyes wide, the phone hanging on his side.

"Hi Peeta!" I exclaim in obvious sarcasm. "Do you mind if I come in? I heard my name and thought that you might like me to be here!" He winces at my confession and bites his lip.

"Gale, I gotta go." He says into the phone, and I walk into the room without invitation.

"Is that all you heard?" Peeta asks, following me into the living room.

"Oh no, not at all. You have a lot of explaining to do." I sit on a chair, leaning back, watching Peeta nervously fiddle with his hands and sit down as well, avoiding my gaze.

"Um, I, I, uh..." I roll my eyes and cluck my tongue. Peeta's face is a deep red, which some how manages to irritate me more. However, it also makes me somewhat satisfied, knowing that he is embarrassed and ashamed of his actions.

"Just spit it out." I growl, growing impatient.

"I wanted to make you jealous." He grimaces at his words.

"Yeah, I got that. So tried to by fake dating Madge?"

"Yes. She thought that you deserved happiness and, I quote, 'wouldn't realize that you liked Peeta by yourself'."

"What about Gale? Why was he so nervous earlier?"

"He kind of knew about our plan, and, as you might know, isn't the best with lies and secrets."

"Then why did you tell him?"

"Because he obviously likes Madge, and, if he learned about the fake dating, he would break my neck. For your sake as well as his and Madge's. You and him might not be as close as you we when you were younger, but he still cares about you." I sigh, not knowing exactly how to react to the whole situation.

"Can you explain to me about why you thought that making me jealous was good and possibly successful idea?"

"Heh heh.." He gives me a small smile and takes a deep breath. "I, um, really like you. More than a friend. And I was impatient. Which is strange for me, I am usually very patient. I guess that I have been mentally off in the stress of the games. I just wanted you. To be with you."

"Peeta, I told you that I liked you in the car the day you kissed me." I say softly, looking at him sympathetically. "But I also told you that if you liked me as well, which you do, you have to be patient with me. I gave never been on more than two dates before, the one you took me on, and another with a jerk in freshman year, let alone been in a serious relationship.

"I can't have the distraction during these stressful times; especially with Prim and her whole cancer ordeal. When the games finish, I will happily go out with you, and see where it goes." Peeta nods sullenly during my speech and looks down with a sigh at its end.

"I understand. I'm sorry."

"It's okay.. well, really, it's not okay, but I understand, kind of, too." Put of instinct of beings good person, Peeta reaches over to embrace me in an awkward hug. I let my arms dangle on my side, preparing to push him away. Fortunately, he senses my uncomfortableness and lets go in seconds.

"Well, I better go." I stand up and absentmindedly brush my shorts off. "Bye Peeta."

"See you Kat." He replies in a hoarse whisper. Without looking back, I step briskly out off the room and shut the door. I better go talk to Madge.

I turn down the hallway and read the doors, looking for room eighteen. Fourteen, sixteen, ah! Eighteen! I curtly knock on the door and wait, tapping my foot to a random rhythm.

"Katniss!" Madge's voice causes me to snap my head up, greeted by a grinning Madge.

"I know, Madge."

"Oh." Her face drops an incredible amount and she sighs deeply. "Come in then. I can't leave you standing here."

She solemnly leads me in a well furnished room that is freakishly clean. On the coffee table of the room that she sits down in, the living room, is a newspaper with the words 'London Olympians' plastered in large letters across the front. I stare at the pictures of the medalists from random countries, intrigued by their ecstatic expressions. I can see it now, me, standing on the podium, a gold medal hanging off of a blue ribbon, mouthing the national anthem. Or the victory lap. Running around the track, gripping the flag that flies freely behind me as I celebrate. I am snapped out of my fantasy day dream when I hear Madge clear her throat.

"Oh, sorry Madge. Spaced out there for a bit." She gives me a sympathetic look that I have no idea where the origin is from and motions for me to sit. I happily oblige and she looks nervous.

"So..." Madge starts, playing with her hands.

"So... Peeta told me that being with him would make me happy, according to you. Why?"

"Well, uh, you are seventeen! I'm twenty, and even this is stressing me out. For who would it not? And with Prim and everything, leading to them not being able to be here, I thought that it would be good to have someone for support."

"But I have you, Gale, Finnick, Annie, Peeta, and David. Why do Peeta and I have to be in a relationship romantically for me to have support?"

"Um... I, uh," She desperately tries to think of a comeback. "You know you like him!" Madge blurts out, causing me to snicker.

"Yeah, he is nice. But I'm not ready to be in a relationship!"

"You are so stubborn!"

"Yup, and being stubborn has gotten me to the Olympics, Madge!" I slam my hand down in frustration, my voice rising. "Is that a bad thing? No. So waiting for Peeta is a bad thing? Probably not."

"I give up. Let's just agree to disagree." I scowl at her easy-going-ness. I'm never like this. I will fight hard until I win. Everyone who knows me knows this. I have way too much fire, too much to be put out by anything. Nothing can stop my competitiveness, and I'm proud of it. But, knowing that Madge is one of the only friends I have here in London, I suck up my pride and fake a smile at her.

"Fine. Do you want to grab something to eat?" She smiles, and for a moment, I almost believe that it is possible to let some things go.


	11. Chapter 11

**AHHHHH! Okay, I just had to do that.**

**I'm so pleased with the response to this story, thank you! The Olympics have been awesome, and Michael Phelps ended his last competitive swimming race ever with a gold medal! 'APPLAUSE' Also, on Aly Raisman got a bronze medal on beam and gold medal on floor! Yay! Alison Felix is competing in the two hundred TONIGHT! Can't wait! Continue to watch and support your favorite athletes! **

**FYI: The order of events of the Olympics are not like it is in real life.**

**Now, 'DRUMROLL' onto the chapter!**

**-A Heart :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES OR THE OLYMPICS.**

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY. **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Today is Friday. Friday is today. Is today Friday? Yes. Today is the first day of track and field. Today, Annie will race in the one hundred. Today, Peeta will compete in the long jump. Today, Finnick, Madge, Gale, and I will cheer on our teammates from the crowds, where we will apologize beforehand to those around us for possibly blowing any eardrums because of our screaming.

It is eleven thirty in the morning, and I have been up with Annie, calming her jumpy nerves and emotions for five hours. But thats what friends are for, right?

The twenty two year old woman has been running around her hotel room, checking her bags for any missing items, like her lucky necklace Finnick gave her the night before the Opening Ceremonies, changing her hair about five times in thirty minutes, and fixing her makeup whenever she looks in the mirror like she is going to Prom, even though I keep telling her that it is ridiculous, she's running, for Pete's sake! When Annie finally decided that she should, bejewel her chosen red 'USA' tank top for looks only, that, mind you, would make it p not a running shirt, that's when I forced her into a chair, taping her hands behind her back and shoving an apple in her mouth, she shut up.

Which brings us to now. Me staring into Annie's gorgeous green eyes, she, staring back with an intensity about it that no one could match, both wrestling with our hands for, well, in my case, to tape her hands back, and for her, to let them be free for enough time to take the apple out of her small mouth.

I move my hand to grasp hers more tightly, and she takes the opportunity to jerk away and, in one fluid motion, release the apple from her mouth.

"Ahh..." Annie inhales, then focuses on me. "Katniss!" I scowl at her and fake a smile.

"Yes?" I respond innocently.

"Really? I mean, really? Was that really necessary?"

"Annie. You were going to bejewel your running tank top so you could look go when you race for ten seconds." I snicker and Annie blushes a deep red, as I'd just realizing her actions and purposes just then.

"Heh heh..."

"Yeah, heh heh." There is an uncomfortable pause of silence and I glance at the clock while she stares at her balled up hands sheepishly.

"Well, we can just forget about that." I clap my hands and stand up, causing Annie to glance at me with a relieved expression. I'm about to change that. "It's time to go." Annie's eyes widen and her face pales. I sigh and take her hand, pulling her up.

"Annie, you have run hundreds of races. Why bother getting worked up about this one?"

"Because it's the Olympics, Katniss!" She hisses. "The flippin' Olympics!"

"Don't you think that the trails are more stressful, since you wouldn't be here without them? You aren't even in the final yet, its just a qualifier, and you won the U.S. trials, so you are almost guaranteed a spot in the semis." Somehow, my explanation seems to have calmed her down and she takes a deep breath.

"I guess your right. Let me just grab my keys and bag." I nod and Annie jogs off, returning seconds later with a blue duffel bag and sunglasses covering her eyes. "Are Finnick and those guys coming?" She sounds anxious and I chuckle at her doubtfulness.

"Of course Annie, they wouldn't miss it for the world." She takes a deep sigh of relief and we head put for the staduim, which is only eight minutes away from Annie's old, beautiful hotel.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When we arrive at the stadium, Annie is attacked by her coach and officials who drag her into the building to get ready. As they take her away, she shoots me a scared look and I give her a thumbs up and a reassuring smile.

Sporting a 'Team USA' jacket and jean shorts, I search the crowds for familiar faces, and immediately spot a frantically waving Gale, who is sitting ten rows up with the rest of our group on the bleachers. I make my way over to them and slide into an aisle seat next to Finnick. Gale, who is sitting next to the bronze haired man, leans over him and catches my attention.

"I thought I'd have to come down. That's why I looked like a lunatic waving at you." I smirk at his choice of words.

"You were scared that you would have to walk down ten steps."

"Hey, I'm saving my legs for later! As soon as Annie runs, I am going down there to get ready for the four hundred!" Gale defends.

"That's right! You are running la-"

"Um, can you guys finish this conversation later, I'm still here you know." Gale and I turn to a sheepish Finnick and we both nod. After sitting in comfortable silence for a few moments, Finnick's voice, directed at me, breaks it.

"So... How was Annie this morning? I know she can get a little... worked up."

"Ugh! A little? She was changing her makeup -makeup! It's track!- every five minutes. When she decided to bejewel her USA tank, that's when I strapped her down. Literally." Finnick chuckles and shakes his head.

"I wish I was there! I would have loved to see that!"

"I'm sure you would!" I turn my head and peer over to the start of the one hundred. "Hey, isn't that Nina? You know, two woman that came in second in the trials?" Finnick bends his next and confirms my suspicions with yes.

"Guys! This is the first heat! It's about to start!" I call down to Gale, Madge, and Peeta. Their focus snaps to the track as well as Nina and the others are announced. Soon comes the 'ready' and the sprinters step onto their respective blocks. Next is the 'set' once all of the runners are still. The gunshot sounds and they take off, pounding down the straight away. Nina is up there with the top four runners who pull away from the pack. Their heads jerk down and the race is over. Almost immediately, the results are posted and we learn that Nina came in third.

We eagerly wait as we see the second heat's runners enter the track in a line, then stepping into their assigned lane. When the second person splits off, a brown haired girl in red shorts and a red TEAM USA belly shirt is revealed. Down the row, I hear Madge squeal in excitement as Annie stretches her legs and mentally prepares herself for the start. When her name is announced over the loud speaker, Annie steps forward, grinning, and waves cheerfully to the ecstatic crowd. Once everyone is announced, they step onto the blocks. The second heat's time between the 'ready', 'set', and the gunshot is much shorter than the first heat's, and they are released from their tense positions much quicker. Annie take the lead in the first fifty meters and makes it look effortless, while the other woman struggle to keep up with her.

She crosses the finish line with so much momentum she run another one hundred, slowly easing down. After glancing up at the scoreboard she punches the air, screaming "U.S.A!" then looks immediately back up. We watch her expression become confused when she see 'WR' next to her time, then become shocked. That's right, in the qualifying round, which usually is the slowest round because the qualifiers would have two more races to run, Annie broke the world record. She is jumping up and down on the track while Finnick is screaming 'Yes's into my ear. I smirk at him and then look back at Annie, softly laughing at Finnick's reaction. When I focus on the track again, I notice a camera pointing at us and realize that we are being filmed. I look back at Finnick and burst into laughter, understanding that he must look like an idiot. Somehow, Peeta realizes the situation, then Madge, who tells Gale, and soon we all look like idiots, four or us laughing at a jumping up and down, screaming Finnick.

We calm down and Annie and the rest of the second heat are ushered inside again, signaling the arrival of the third heat onto the tracks and the time for Gale to leave to prepare for his race, the four hundred.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

While we wait for Annie to come up and sit with us, as well as Gale's race, the four of watch the pole vault and the triple jump. The events were surprisingly entertaining, and soon we were cheering with everyone else. Peeta agreed to go and retrieve us all waters, since it was muggy, humid day, not the best for running.

"Hey guys!" A chirpy voice snaps me out of my focus on the Latvian pole vaulter, bringing it to a smiling Annie.

"Annie! Cong-" I begin to stand up to hug the victorious brunette, but am knocked over by a, um, eager Finnick who traps her in a tight embrace.

"Oh my God! Annie! You were, just, oh my gosh, it was fantastic! And you gut the record! I can't believe it! No! I can believe it! I just can't believe that it happen- OW!" Finnick slaps away my fingers as I pinch him on the arm to stop him from rambling and choking Annie. He realizes just how tight his hug is and quickly pulls away. "Sorry." He mutters and sits down, eyes focused on the ground, making himself look like an embarrassed seven year old. Annie giggles and sits in Gale's empty seat.

"It's okay. I'm excited too, as you might guess." Finnick grins at her and I shake my head at the scene. Peeta and Madge congratulate her as well and by the time we are settled down, the first heat of the four hundred is arriving onto the track.

"Look, Gale is in this heat!" I slide forward into my seat and silently cheer him on, thinking encouraging thoughts. Most people think of the four hundred as a long sprint, but professional athletes consider it short, but, we also consider the mile a sprint. They get into their starting blocks and we scream Gale's voice, and continue to through his race, to the point of my voice becoming hoarse. He is in the middle of the pack from the beginning, but as he turns the two hundred bend, his speed picks up and he begins dropping runners, leaving him with the top two runners, a man from Bulgaria and South Zimbabwe. I find my voice again and we are screaming louder then before, even though being in third guarantees him a spot in the semifinals. Suddenly, the Bulgaria runner drops back behind Gale, and, without picking up his pace, Gale finishes second. As I begin to clap, I feel a faint buzzing coming from my pocket. I race down the bleachers and find a quiet hallway near the locker rooms to answer my phone.

"Hello?"

"Katniss." My mom's voice comes onto the phone.

"Hi Mom. What's up?" I state somewhat impatiently, eager to get back to the activity and excitement.

"We have a problem."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**You want more? Tell me in a review 'wink' 'wink'! **


	12. Chapter 12

**ALLYSON FELIX WON THE 200M! AND WAS REWARDED A MUCH DESERVED GOLD FOR THE RECORD CRUSHING 4X100 RELAY! **

**THE U.S. WOMAN'S SOCCER TEAM WON GOLD, BEATING JAPAN, WHO THEY LOST TO IN THE WORLD CUP IN PENALTY KICKS, 2-1! **

**All right, sorry about that. As you might know, I'm a little excited. 'Breathe Abbi, breathe.' Okay, I'm back. I am stoked about the last chapter! You guys are amazing! Thank you! **

**So, this is kind of a short, sad chapter that I'm expecting most of you to hate me for. So, yeah, go ahead, waste your energy and hate me. It will all work out in the end, and then you won't be able to enjoy it. :)**

**So... um... review and stuff. You know what to. Enjoy it, tell me! Hate it, tell me! **

**Smiles, **

**-A Heart**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES' CHARACTERS. **

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY. **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_"Hello?" _

_"Katniss." My mom's voice came through the phone. _

_"Hi Mom. What's up?" I state impatiently, eager to get back to the action and excitement._

_"We have a problem." _

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"What's going on?" My heart is pounding out of my chest. Oh my God. That's the same voice she used when Dad died. Emotionless, low, throaty. My worst nightmare.

"It's Prim." Her voice cracks and I can see her now. Tears threatening to overflow, one hand covering her face, silent sobs shaking her body. "Something happened. She didn't make it."

"No. No. No. No." I mutter as my breathing becomes hyperventilating. "No. No. No. No! NO!" My mutter becomes uncontrollable shrieks and I drop the phone, sliding to the ground, bringing my knees to my chest and let my tears pour. Unlike my mother, my sobs are very much hearable, and, even in my crazies state, I am not very surprised to feel a hand on my shoulder. Without looking up, I know it's David. He crouches down to eye level with me and I dare to make brief eye contact. Without a word, he gathers me up in his arms and we sit there, with people passing by, in the hallway. No doubt we get strange looks, I mean, why is an U.S. Olympic athlete and her c on the floor, one crying? But I'm in too much distress to care.

I am shaking horrendously and David's shirt becomes soaked with my salty tears of sadness. I don't know how long we are there, but after a while, my eyes are dry, and I'm sure very red. I finally look up at David, hiccuping and drying my eyes.

"Katniss..." David starts, a curious tone lacing his voice, but not enough to force me to answer his obvious question of what happened. I chose to answer it anyway.

"Prim." Hiccup. "She," Hiccup. "Died." The three words start the tears and I begin to feel lightheaded. David holds me closer, but my body becomes numb with the pain. He becomes aware of my dizziness and he starts calling my name. Farther and farther away. Katniss. Katniss. I want to come back. I want to answer. But the voice gets farther away and I doubt that he would here me anyway. It's getting darker too. Maybe I'll just sleep and in the morning it will be a dream. A horrible, wicked dream, at that.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A horrible bright light flood my eyelids and I squint in my dazed state. My muscles are relaxed, too relaxed for a sprinter. I want to stretch them so badly, yet I can't find the strength or reason to. Why stretch muscles for running if there is nothing to run to, for or from any more? I used to run to Prim, away from the idea of pain collapsing in on her, and the love of it. I can't find a purpose in my mind to run and train anymore.

With all of my strength, I lift my heavy eyelids and peer into a room, which I instinctively recognize as my hotel room. The next thing I see is a familiar boy with blue eyes and David talking in hushed voices anxiously in the corner on the room.

"David?" I croak and I hear a gasp.

"Katniss! You are wake!" Peeta gushed, stumbling over to where I am laying. "I- I mean, we, were so worried! Madge told me what happened after I finished the long jump."

"Ugh!" I groan. I missed Peeta's event! Now I feel really guilty, adding to the pounding in my head from crying.

"What's the matter?" Peeta cries, panicked by my sound of discomfort.

"I missed your event." I mutter, but Peeta waves it off and scoffs.

"Psh, please. I didn't even do that well. I came in fourth."

"That's awesome! How can you say that! It's honor just to be here!" Peeta stays silent and I know that he regrets his placing confession.

"Yeah... I guess..." I frown as he mutters, like I just realized that I had to take a difficult test. Instead, a wave of sadness comes over me, bringing tears to my unsuspecting eyes. Peeta's become wide, unlike my watery ones. It takes me a second to realize why the sudden change in emotion, but than I figure out that he thinks that _he _made me cry. I wish. It would be a whole lot better to being crying over Peeta than to be crying over the fact that my sweet sister died.

"Oh I'm sorry! Did I say something..." He trails off, confused but ashamed. I let out a meaningless laugh at his sincerity and shake my head.

"Prim," I choke out, my voice wavering uncontrollably and I bite my lower lip to keep myself from bursting into tears right then. Peeta looks down on me sympathetically, but I know that sympathy is worth nothing when you need empathy. But even as common as death is to me, it's a stranger, an unfelt, unknown event to him.

I clutch my sides, unaware of David watching from the side sadly, too focused in the stupid pain in my chest that keeps me gasping for air. I'm so tired of being strong, of not looking weak. It was all for Prim. To show her that every time you fall, you can get back up again without anybody's help, that you can rely on yourself. But what if I want to fall? What if I don't want to pick myself up? I look up at Peeta, tears brimming my eyes, what must be the most vulnerable expression plastered on my long face.

"Why does it have to hurt? I just want the pain to go." I whisper in a small voice, so small that I wouldn't be surprised if Peeta didn't hear or understand my words. Somehow, though, he does. He sits on the edge of the bed and grasps my right hand, watching it intently as he draws patterns on it with his calloused fingers.

"I know Katniss. But, sometimes, hurt is what you need... Sometimes the pain reminds that you are only human, that you aren't numb of feeling. Sometimes it's the thing that can pick up on those crappy days when you feel like giving up, but you can think, hey at least it's not as bad as when that happened. And I powered through that, so I can easily power through this.

"I would be worried if you won't sad, love." He realizes his term of endearment and hastily coughs to cover it up, but I already heard it. "It shows how much you love Prim, how you would do anything for her. Which is why you can't give up. Prim would not want you to give up because of her. She would want you to continue, to be happy, to move on. And, before you interrupt, moving on does not necessarily mean forgetting. It means living with memory, the happy memories. Which I'm sure as anything that you have a darn lot of. So cry, Katniss. Let it all out. Just don't live in the past. Move on at some point."

I sob into Peeta's chest, which he gathered me into with his strong arms during his beautiful speech halfway, when I finally broke down. And I don't plan on moving anytime soon, but, as Peeta said, I will need to live in the moment, not the past.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**So, you hate me. Or you don't. Either way, tell me in a review. Thanks! **


	13. Chapter 13

**I am a horrible person. And I mean horrible. I updated last Sunday... I think... and then disappeared. This is why. **

**When I updated Sunday, I refrained from leaving a note that said I would be on vacation. That is because I thought that the next few days leading up to Wednesday would be laid back and not busy. Here's the thing. I was wrong. I thought that I would be able to get up a chapter, no, was almost sure I could on Sunday. But, the next two days I ended up being crazy busy and I just couldn't do it. When I left Wednesday, I was pretty sure that the house on the island (Isle Au Haut, Maine) we were staying at until Friday had wifi, and I could leave you guys a note then. Unfortunately, I found out that the place is so remote that there is no Internet connections (which really isn't that bad).**

**So that brings us to now. Today, I came up to Acadia National Park and the house I'm staying at has wifi. So please don't hate me. I really meant to let you guys know. I also haven't been able to write enough to post, but I'm going to try really hard and get one up this week. I come back Saturday, and the posts will be more frequent, at least until school starts the 5th.**

**Oh! I am also starting a new story, called Little Island. Here's the summary, it will be up before the next chapter... **

Katniss Everdeen is an only child that was born and raised on Isle Petite, a island off of the coast of Maine that has a round year population of 128. Now sixteen, Katniss still lives on the island, and doesn't have to interact with many people. Peeta Mellark is a city boy, born and raised in the very crowded New York City. He is a people person, used to having to deal with gigantic crowds. What happens when Peeta moves to Isle Petite, turning Katniss' world upside down? AU. No HG.

**If you are interested, keep an eye out for it or follow me as an author to get the note about it. **

**Thank you! **

**-Abbi (A Heart) **


	14. Chapter 14

**So, the Olympics are over 'sigh'. But... that does not mean this story is! Long live A Vision of London! **

**You guys are fantastically amazing when it comes to supporting me! Love y'all! The one little thing that I wish was happening is more people with accounts reviewing. More that half of my reviews are from the guests! So here is your time to redeem yourselves, account-ers! **

**Well, enough of me blabbering... Ladies and gentleman... Chapter 13! **

**-A Heart**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAME'S CHARACTERS. **

**CLAIMER: I DO OWN THE PLOT TO THIS STORY. **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I wake up to a pounding in my head and my tongue dry. My face is tear stained and and my body is aching from what I am sure was thrashing around during silent nightmares. Staring at the ceiling, I steady my uneven breathing down to a rhythmic inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. A calendar appears in my mind and a distant alarm goes off, reminding me that today is the two hundred meters qualifier. My breathing becomes ragged again and I sit up, swing my legs over the bed, and walk swiftly to the kitchen where I fill a clean cup with water and greedily gulp it down.

Refreshed, head back to the bed and lay down, closing my eyes in deep thought as I realize a large obstacle of the day. I can't run today! My little sister died yesterday! No, I can't do this. I should call to tell Peeta that he shouldn't go to the stadium for me- wait, no. He will just hit me with one of those emotional, inspirational speeches. I'll just call Madge, she can tell the others, and then I'll shut off my phone and lock myself in my room, completely disconnected with the outside world, allowing myself to go on without listening to a ranting Peeta. Moments later, Madge is on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Madge, it's me, Katniss. I just wanted to tell you that I'm not running anymore. Can you tell the others to not bother to go to support me? Thanks."

"What?" She explodes on the other side, screeching at me in panic. "No, Katniss, you can't-"

"Bye Madge. Thanks again." I interrupt and then hang up. I flop back onto the bed once more, expecting to feel utter relief. Instead I feel a pit in my stomach that usually comes with guilt or depression. Well, yeah, it's from the guilt of nit being with Prim and the depression of death. That's all, I think...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I stay in my broken state for three hours, eyes glazed over, my loose focus on the T.V., where I watch a Italian archer win gold. When he steps on the podium, preparing for his country's national anthem, I hear a loud banging coming from the front door. Crap, I forgot to lock it! Silently, I tiptoe over the door and slowly turn the lock. I wince in preparation for the click that comes with the final locking, but the door bursts open, causing me to fly backwards and land on my back.

"Ohhh..." I moan and look up to see Gale, Madge, and Peeta standing in front of me. Not even bothering to see if I'm okay, Gale yanks me up and hold me at arms length, his strong hands gripping my shoulders as the others look on.

"You. Will. Run. For. Prim." He states so seriously, it's scary. His eyes have a fire in them and I no that there is no way that I can put it out. I look away, refusing to meet his intense gaze as I shake his hands loose. Madge appears in front of me, wearing her team U.S.A uniform, giving me a clear view of a smirking Peeta behind her, which annoys me, so, I obviously smirk back. She grabs my hand and jerks me towards the bedroom and holds all five fingers up on her left hand, signaling for them to wait five minutes. I scoff and continue to be dragged. When we reach the room, she slams the door shut and looks at me with a look of concentration.

"Okay... Get into this." She throws a red U.S.A. tank top and red shorts at me and I groan, still stalk off the bathroom to change.

When I come back, Madge throws a hair brush and hair elastic at me, giving me no time to react. It hits my collarbone and I wince in pain, glaring hatefully at Madge as I rip through my knotted hair with the brush. I quickly tie it up and wrap a sports band around my head and leave the room without saying anything to the older girl.

Leaning on my right foot and placing my hands on my hips, I purse my lips and stare haughtily at Peeta and Gale.

"You know, even if you force me to go and run, I could still just go really slowly, and run a thirty second two hundred." Gale rolls his eyes at my explanation.

"Please, like you would do that. You know you want to be here, and you know Prim wants you to run and do well. Qualify to the semis for her. Then see how you feel."

"Fine." I grumble, gritting my teeth and march out of the room, pausing in the hallway, waiting for them to follow me to drive me to the track.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When we arrive at the staduim, I am sitting cross legged in the backseat next to Peeta who is staring intently at me, as if he is challenging me to meet his gaze. Madge is chattering endlessly to Gale about a little boutique she found in the southern end of London that has the best scarves ever, and I am forced to listen due to the fact that I am refusing to speak.

Gale parks and they, meaning Madge and him, hop out, leaving Peeta and me. I continue to stare at the front window, so Peeta grabs my arm lightly and gives it a gentle pull, but enough to send me stumbling out of the car. Glaring at him, I stalk off to the stadium without a word, leaving Madge to run after me, and Peeta and Gale to find Annie and Finnick in the stands.

A man in all yellow ushers me and Madge into a room where other runners stand, including Johanna, which reveals that they are the women preparing to run the two hundred. Everyone is stretching and warming up their muscles, so I roll my eyes and do the same. Soon, we are called into a dark hallway where we are given I.D. cards and line up in our respective heats. Madge is in the first, I'm placed in the second, and Johanna in the third.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**RANDOM PERSON WATCHING FROM TELEVISION AT HOME POV**

The first heat is called out and Leevy, being her six year old self, starts jumping up and down from excitement. Rather quickly, they take their places and race from their starting blocks into the right away. The American runner in this heat, who is obviously not trying her hardest, saving her legs, comes in second after a remarkable lean.

Commercials come on, and I turn down the volume, waiting to see the next race. The moment the Olympic rings flash across the screen Leevy screams 'turn it up, turn it up! I can't hear, momma!' I obey and this time I tune into the commentators.

"Now, the most remarkable, and, probably, the one to look out for is the American in lane three, Miss Katniss Everdeen." One voice states.

"Yes, John. Miss Everdeen is only seventeen years of age, about to turn eighteen in September. Her coach is good medalist hurdler David Grocher." Another voice informs.

"Miss Everdeen sure does have an interesting story and I would be very surprised if she did not qualify." John says, and they go silent as we turn our attention on the track, and we watch the runners prepare for their race. The announcers are right; this Everdeen girl is extremely young. She looks like a fish out of water and she looks very distracted, maybe from stress. They take to their starting blocks and Katniss seems to be moving a little slowly. The commands are called and soon the gun goes off, as well as the runners. Katniss, however, is frozen on her blocks for about two seconds, then something hits her and she speeds away, as if she just realized that race had already started. She's way to far behind, there is no way she'll automatically qualify, probably not even make fourth or fifth.

Suddenly, the teen starts dropping the other runners like flies. In a blink of the eye she has plead herself in fifth- no, fourth. Throwing herself across the line, the crowd is shocked.

"Did you just see that John? I mean, wow! She qualified with third! That was absolutely amazing!"

They go silent once again, and, we are left with the same question as everyone else, did that just really happen?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**I am so sorry about the wait for this chapter! Oh, and please check out my new story, Little Island, as well as my songfic, Arms. **

**Thank you! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! This is probably going to be the last chapter before school starts up on Wednesday the fifth. Because of this, updates are goings to be random and might be, unfortunately, not always once a week. Once I figure out how to balance school, soccer, and writing Little Island, and this, it will become more of a rhythm. **

**I'm kind of disappointed with the response for the last few chapters, it seems to be going a slowly. Hopefully this will get things going again. Thank you though, to those who reviewed, followed, etc.**

**Oh, and just 'cause I feel like it, anyone who reviews this chapter gets a shout out in the next. This also includes guests. :) **

**Enjoy! **

**-A Heart **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Katniss' POV

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I feel dizzy. What just happened? I can't believe that I started late. I'm so stupid! Wait, why is that person walking over to me? Oh God, I'm going to be disqualified for staring so late! No! This is horrible! Is he.. Oh! He's talking to me!

"I'm sorry, I missed that." I finally find my voice and the tall man chuckles in amusement.

"I asked if you wouldn't mind doing an interview with Spencer over there." I follow his hand, where he gestures to a young man, probably two years older than me, who is speaking with Madge and surrounded with cameras.

"Oh. Uh, sure." I give the screaming crowd a small, shy wave and follow him through a small gate that leads to the interviewer.

"Just wait here. Oh, and this is for you." The man, whose name I never got, hands me a water bottle and silently leaves leaves.

"Thank you Madge. And the best of luck to you in the semis." The reporter says.

"Thanks Spencer." Madge replies and walks away towards her coach, who is grinning at her from a far. I am snapped out of my daze when Spencer makes a low 'ohhh' sound. I turn to him and get a good look at the American. He has jet black hair that looks like it has been dyed and tan skin. He has a smirk on his face and looking at me like I'm a piece of meat.

"You must be Katniss. Such a lovely name." He grabs my hand kisses it lightly, causing me let some sort of sound that sounds like a cross between a snort and a 'pff' out of my throat.

"And you must be Spencer. What do I owe this displeasure?" He looks taken aback but quickly returns to his over-confident, know-it-all, demeanor.

"Oh darling. You are hilarious. You know you want me."

"You know what? You are such a-" I retort angrily, but I am interrupted by a cameraman.

"And we on in five, four, three, two, go." Spencer smiles at the camera and I roll my eyes, not caring that the device caught it.

"And we are back, this time with first time Olympian, seventeen year old, Katniss Everdeen! Now, I'm sure you all saw that history making race. That was unbelievable. However, you looked a little distracted. What's on your mind, Kat?"

"It's Katniss." I growl underneath my breath, then fake a grin and raise my voice. "It's crazy here. I'm really grateful that I get to move on to the semifinals, since I almost didn't make it. And... well, things at home aren't that great right now."

"Care to share?"

"No." My answer is short and sweet. "Thank you, Spencer." I stalk away, ignoring Spencer's 'wait, comeback!' and 'I have more questions'. My head is spinning and I feel nauseous. Did I drink anything this morning? No, I don't think I did... Black flashes, then I can see everything again. I really need water. Everything is fading away...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

My eyes flutter open to a pale face with deep blue eyes peering down at me, so close to mine that it's almost creepy. The startling view causes a scream to escape my chapped lips and I lift an achy arms to cover my mouth. Instead of cringing from my outburst, as one would expect, the face, which, by the way, belongs to Madge, let's put a chirpy, 'she's awake!'.

I groan and lift myself into a sitting position and lean back into the pillow. Peeta, Gale, Finnick, Annie come rushing in, soon to be followed by a woman in blue scrubs with a clipboard.

"Katniss!"

"How are you feeling?"

"Your race was amazing!"

I'm not sure which phrase came from who, but they where sure to be heard throughout the hospital, since they came out in very loud voices. The nurse is quick to shush them, then walks over to me.

"Hello Katniss. How are you feeling?"

"Uh, okay, I guess. Kind of achy though. What is going on the last thing I remember is..." I pause to search through my memory once more, before finding that the last thing I can remember was stalking angrily away from a young reporter that I can't remember the name of for the life of me. "... Is walking away from that reporter man."

"You are in a hospital, as you might know. After you finished your interview, you, and this is known from witnesses, stumbled around a little bit before collapsing, getting up again, and then collapsing once more for good. And by that I mean you passed out. As for the achy feeling, well that is to be expected. It's a side effect of fainting, which was caused by stress and fatigue."

I sigh and close my eyes as a result of the overwhelming information.

"I see. How long do I have to be here? No offense, but I really hate hospitals." 'And the people who work there', I add bitterly in my mind. Ever since my dad died, hospitals seemed like a place to be reminded of death. When we were called to the hospital the day dad was pronounced dead, all the doctors did was give me their pity. But, news flash, I don't want their pity. I want my dad back. When ever I went to my annual checkups at my doctor's office, which just so happened to be located in the same hospital my dad was rushed to after the heart attack, all of the doctors who knew about the horrible event would send me and Prim sad looks and whisper things to their fellow employees like 'how terrible', and 'the poor girls'.

"Oh none taken! We get that all the time." I send a confused glance about the nurse's cheeriness to my friends who are huddled in the corner, gushing over my state.

"Okay then... So..."

"Oh! I'm going to send the Dr. Aureliousin to do some tests and if everything looks okay, you'll be free to go." She says to me. Then in a louder voice, she addresses my friends. "I know that this all so exciting, but if you will, may please say your words to Katniss and then leave, ten doctor needs to come in." With that, the nurse that I never got the name of struts off with her clipboard and all, leaving me staring awkwardly at my friends.

"We're so glad you are okay, Katniss." Annie says and Finnick nods eagerly behind her. As they walk out the door, I give them a small, rare smile and the golden haired boy pats my arm comfortingly.

"That race was amazing Catnip. You should be very proud."

"Thanks, Gale." This time he gives me a warm smile and follows Annie and Finnick out the door.

"I'm sorry this happened. Maybe we shouldn't of pressured you into this is you knew you weren't feeling well." I mumbled a 'that's okay' back to Madge as she steps out the door. That leaves one. My gaze snaps back to Peeta, who is slowly making his way towards me, staring at me intently.

"You're really incredible, you know that, right Kat?" Peeta says softly as he sits on the edge of the bed and pushes a stray piece of hair out of my face. He sighs when I don't reply, probably thinking that I don't believe him. I wish I could be thinking that too, other then the latter, that I am doing, which is getting lost in his eyes and only half hearing what he's saying. When he stands again, I shake myself from his gaze. I follow his face as it leans down and kisses me gently on the forehead, then leaves the room, pulling the door shut with a small 'click' with him.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dr. Aureliousseems to come and go in a matter of seconds. He doesn't say much at all, just a few muttered 'good, good's and a single 'just what I thought'. When he leaves, I am left waiting alone in the room, free to explore the different things the button on the remote next to my hospital bed do.

One of them, the top rectangular blue one, to be exact, moves my bed up and down at a surprisingly rapid pace, creating a hallow, car sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The same place that the fluttering that I get when I am with Peeta goes straight to, except that's a different story.

The giant red one in the middle that is shaped into a circle is a signal for emergency help. I find this out the hard way, when the button starts flashing and a team of four nurses, three male and one female, rush in to see what the problem is.

A simple black one on the bottom is used to control the status of the television, on or off. Just when I get bored of watching a British reality show about some celebrity and his wife and kids, the same nurse that I spoke with earlier knocks softly on the door and then lets herself in.

"Hello! So, the results are in, and you are free to go. Now, if you just sign," She points to a long line on a paper filled with typed paragraphs. "Here, you can take your bag," She gestures to my sports duffel bag that Madge must of grabbed for me that is sitting on an uncomfortable looking chair in the corner. "And go!"

I eagerly obey and soon I'm out the door, walking at an incredible speed for someone who just recently passed out, with my Olympic companions following closely behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**Wow. Did bore you to death? Also, reading these chapters over again, it hits me: I write CRAPPY endings. Ugh. Anyways... Please review! It makes my day. :) **


	16. Chapter 16

**I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER! I feel really bad that I am doing this to you guys! Especially since this is bad news. So here it comes... **

**I am taking a break. **

**This the absolute worst scenario, but I am NOT quitting. I refuse to do so. Here's the thing; I just learned that I made the Middle school soccer team. Which means I have practice every single day except for Sunday, because I play on another team. Now, I also have homework, as well as a online VHS (Virtual High School) course I am taking, which leads to more homework. I also don't want to be infrequent and have really short chapters. So, I am going to finish A Vision of London (somewhat infrequently), but I only have about two to three chapters left, but take a break on Little Island and get back to it when AVoL is finished. **

**Thank you so much for sticking with me, and I going to try my best to do this. It's going to take some time, though. **

**Once again, I am SO sorry! **

**-Abbi (AHeart99) **

**Also, as promised, shout outs to the reviewers of Chapter 15!**

**swiftie4x- (just want to point out that this is the best review I have ever gotten, thank you!) **

**Guest**

**Callista Wolfwood**

**Hope Tully**

**littlecarlos **


	17. Chapter 17

**I feel horrible. I have been dying to post, but couldn't bring myself to post something so short, so crappy. So... Here us the chapter that you have been waiting WAY too long for. And it better be flipping awesome, or I want reviews that torture me for being such a horrible person. So, I figured that if I post shorter chapters, I will be able to post more often.**

**October 5th was my birthday; I am officially thirteen! **

**Well... All though short... Here it is! **

**Oh, and thank you SOOOOO much for staying with me. **

**Love you all! **

**-A Heart**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES. **

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Some people look at an achieved athlete, look back at themselves, and think, 'Wow. What have you achieved in life, hot shot? Not Olympic athleticism, that's for sure.'.

Not my mom. My mom is an interesting character; with an even more interesting story. Instead of envying my success, she finds a way to take pride in it, like it was her soul in my body that is running. But I guess that is a little confusing. So let me give you a background on my mother.

After my dad died, she shut down. She did nothing, leaving me with a crazy running schedule, school, and three, unreliable, less-than-minimum-wage paying jobs. Lets just put it this way: I was not my mom's biggest fan at the moment.

One day, Prim, the most optimistic, strong person I have ever had the honor of knowing, broke down. She was distressed that Mom would not eat and she still had to do homework, as well sell her cheese that she made from her goat that I allowed her to keep in our backyard to the local farm. When Prim burst into tears, Mom glanced at her sobbing child and something snapped. She jumped up and cradled the crying girl, whispering soothing words that come out incoherent to me.

The next day, she showed up at work for me and still made it home in time to cook the venison that my friend had given me that day at school. Little did she know that Henry had been providing me with the fresh meat (his father is a hunter) the whole time she was in her less than lively state. But I did not dare mention it, I was too estatic to see Prim estatic that Mom was up and running again.

This continued until it became a regular routine, and I go used to no longer having such a busy schedule and allowed myself to focus on my main interest: running.

Running pretty much was a crutch for me, something to lean on for support. Bad school day- at least I had practice after. Got in another fight- at least I had practice today. At first I liked to just run the 200 and that was it. Soon, after a lot of coaxing, I was convinced to try the 400. Although thrilling, it didn't have the same effect on me as the 200 did.

However, running did not appeal to the kids at school, especially the fact that I was the fastest in the school, let alone my grade by its self. On Fridays, my gym class would do one race, a new kid against the student that won the week before. Unfortunately for the other students, I was getting professional training, and I always seemed to be racing every week. Cray, a tall, muscular boy from a very wealthy family somehow got the idea in his head that I was on steroids, and that was the only was that I was beating him. After that rumor was spread around five different grades in three surrounding towns (including our own) the nurse forced me to get tested. When the tests came back negative, a new rumor was spread around that Cray was the one doping and he too had to get tested. Much to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell's despair, the results came back stating that he was indeed using steroids to enhance his baseball performance.

Only a mere three weeks after Cray left for rehab to get off the steroids, did I win states in the 200, the first in history for my school. News reporters pounced on my house, stalking my family at school and at home. My mother lost it once threatening to sue everyone on our lawn unless they left immediately. After grabbing our house phone and pretending to call the lawyer that we didn't have, they gave in and went away.

So, to say the least, I've had my share of ups and down with running. But this is most definitely my lowest of lows.

After my almost-ejection from the race, I lay in my sorrow on the hotel, eating up the British soap operas with drooping eyes. Madge is in the kitchen, making me some kind of soup and loudly sighing at me whenever she asks how I'm doing and I reply with a moan. Gale called once, with Peeta in the background yelling at me to tell them what's going on and to "get off the flippin' couch before they come over and do it for me". My head still aches as I go over me feeling of lost passion. My friends are right, really, if I can't run for myself, I should run for Prim. She would want me to succeed in life, and all that sappy stuff.

I hum unwittingly to the cheesy theme song of the show I'm nit really watching and pick up a stray pen that's lying on the coffee table. Because the nearest paper is across the room- a place I don't really want to go- I start to draw on my hand, carefully spelling out the letters to Prim's full name. As I sketch the words onto my skin, I make my decision.

Let's run.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

**So... What do you think? You got some background information, which hopefully clears some things up. I know it's short, but I really wanted to end it there. Also- we are almost done! Just two, maybe three more chapters to go! Then, Little Island comes back into the picture, which I have HUGE plans for. **

**Please review, it makes me right faster to know that people are actually reading this. Also, I need to know if I am or am not boring y'all to death. **

**Thanks so much! **


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